Alice
by Yunalesca10
Summary: Upon their return from Domino, Jaden and friends are met by a mysterious new student named Alice, who Hassleberry falls head over heels for. But it's not all smiles and sunshine when not longer after Hassleberry is found missing without a trace! Running around in a desperate search Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, and Atticus are the only ones left who can save him! Or will it be too late?
1. Chapter 1

**_Cover Art by the amazing Kestrelmakesart on tumblr!_**

* * *

-Chapter 1-

"It's great to be back!" Jaden exclaimed, stretching his arms out as he stepped onto the dock. Their field trip to Domino had honestly been a train-wreck of epic proportions for the most part, so being back at school was looking pretty good. Besides, Academy Island had become something of a true home to Jaden since his first year, spending more time there than he ever did at home now. "Right, guys?"

"Well, considering the highlight of the trip for me was being kidnapped by Sartorius' sister and getting turned into a car, then yes, it's great to be back." Syrus answered, crossing his arms as he recounted the events of their trip. Of course, he had been kidnapped before -not that he was happy about it- but at least all of the other times he hadn't been turned into an anthropomorphic car and trapped in a virtual reality. And also Hassleberry hadn't been there, that was a plus for him as well.

"I mean, being a dinosaur for a while was kinda cool." Hassleberry grinned, patting the smallest on the back as a small, jovial chuckle escaped his lips. "But you're right, son. It's good to be back safe and sound."

"I agree." Bastion nodded, glad they had all made it back to the island in one piece after what they had experienced in Domino. After all, they had enough to deal with with Alexis and Chazz being brainwashed by the Society of Light _without_ having any more of their friends taken. And Syrus and Hassleberry getting kidnapped by them certainly fit the bill, and didn't exactly put this on the map as one of the best trips they'd ever had. In fact, it seemed that no matter where they went, trouble seemed to follow. "Now, let's get back to the dorms, shall we?"

"Sweetness!" Jaden exclaimed, longing to return to his rundown and filthy home. It was an endearing place, with its own special kind of charm to it, and Jaden loved it with all his heart. Lack of hygiene and all. "Slifer dorm, here we come!"

_"Kuri Kuri!"_

"Winged Kuriboh..?"

"What's going on, Jaden?" Syrus asked, taking a step closer to his best friend, raising an eyebrow in both intrigue and concern knowing what Winged Kuriboh's presence could potentially mean. Normally, he came to warn Jaden of some kind of impending danger or trouble they would soon find themselves in the middle of, but occasionally that wasn't the case, and Syrus sincerely hoped this was going to be one of those times.

"Something up, Sarge?" Hassleberry added, joining Syrus by Jaden's side, also beginning to become concerned.

_"Kuri!"_

"What do you mean, buddy?" Jaden questioned, his eyes widening at his furry little spirit companion, confused as well as alarmed by what the fur ball had just told him.

"I beg your pardon?" Bastion inquired, even more confused than anyone else there, not exactly well versed in Jaden's ability to speak with duel spirits. To him more so than anyone else, it really did look like Jaden was just standing there talking to himself.

"C'mon, guys." Jaden declared, motioning for his friends to follow him as he turned towards the path to the dorms before taking off on his own. "Winged Kuriboh said someone's in our dorm, we gotta check it out!"

"Jaden, wait for us!" Syrus called out, following after his best friend as quickly as he could with his much smaller and weaker legs, followed by Hassleberry as well, leaving Bastion on the dock in a state of pure confusion.

"Well, I suppose I'll catch up with them later." He sighed, shaking his head before heading back to his own dorm to get settled back in. Of course, he did plan to rejoin them afterwards, and even if he didn't before, he certainly did now.

* * *

Hurrying down the path with his friends in tow, Jaden sped off to the Slifer dorm, concerned by Winged Kuriboh's prior statement. Who could be in their dorm if everyone had been gone on the field trip? And they had only just gotten back, it didn't seem plausible that anyone had already returned, and if they had, then Winged Kuriboh wouldn't have brought it up with such haste and urgency. It had to be an intruder or stranger of some kind, there was no doubt in his mind about that at all. With Syrus and Hassleberry following closely behind, the three approached the dorm, within even tens of feet from the building, they could already tell something was amiss. The place seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun, as if it had been completely cleaned, sparkling in a similar manner to even the Obelisk Blue dorm, which glistened in the light of day. Quickly investigating the dorm the three friends congregated back at the outside yard, put off by the fresh and clean state of the beloved mess they called a dorm.

"Well would you look at that." Hassleberry stated, almost not believing what he was seeing around him, "Someone spruced the place up while we were all gone."

"You think it was Ms. Dorothy?" Syrus asked, looking to the younger Ra student as he himself wondered who would have gone to all this trouble. After all, the Slifer dorm was normally a complete disaster. Someone had clearly invested a lot of time in cleaning up the place.

"No way." Hassleberry answered, shaking his head while he also began thinking about who it could've been while they reentered the yard "She's got enough on her plate already without completely scrubbin' down the place, bless her kind heart."

"So this is what clean looks like..." Jaden observed, looking over the building once more as he rejoined his companions in the yard. It was an odd feeling, seeing the dorm in such a state. Normally it was dirty and there was the occasional cockroach coming around for a friendly visit. But of course, Pharaoh usually took care of any bugs roaming around the place. After all, that's what cats were all about in their spare time, catching little critters that didn't belong in the cat's domain.

"Y'know, it's weird." Hassleberry commented, crossing his arms as a small frown appeared on his face, looking over to the elder students in his company. "I'm not so sure I like it."

"I miss the dirt..." Syrus sighed forlornly, shaking his head at their now spotless base of operations. Having lived there himself his first year, Syrus had certainly become just as acclimated to the unsanitary and run down environment just as much as Jaden had, which was substantial to say the least. Sometimes it seemed like Jaden loved the Slifer dorm more than life itself, but of course they all knew the only thing that truly held his heart was dueling. As they stood in silence for another short moment, the still atmosphere was broken by something the three of them had never heard before.

"Welcome home, everybody!"

The sweet, happy voice of a young girl sounded around them, A voice they had never heard before in their lives. Turning their gazes towards the voice, the boys laid their eyes on one of the loveliest girls they had ever seen standing above them on the upper deck of the dorm. Her skin was pale and looked very soft, while her long and curly jet black hair contrasted greatly with the porcelain skin. Her eyes were big and blue, twinkling in the sunlight, with an innocent pink lipstick adorning her mouth. She was dressed in a sort of gothic lolita style, her frilly black dress suiting her perfectly, almost as if it was made specifically for her. She was truly a vision of loveliness, such a vision that was certainly not lost on the boys.

"And you are...?" Jaden inquired, raising an eyebrow at the strange girl. She had to be who Winged Kuriboh had been talking about before. Suspicious of the girl, Jaden distanced himself from the sheer cuteness of the lady in question. Cute girls were so easy to trust, after all.

"Cute!" Syrus declared, his large gray eyes lighting up as he kept his gaze on the adorable young lady above them, always having a weakness for pretty girls, real or otherwise.

"Howdy, ma'am!" Hassleberry quickly interjected, practically throwing himself in front of the smaller boy, blocking him from the girl's sight. His eyes sparkled like stars in a completely visible night sky, and his cheeks had taken on a slightly more rosey shade than his usual tanned skin tone as he stared at the girl with a huge smile plastered to his face. Smiling brightly at the boys below her, the girl spoke once more.

"You're all so sweet! I'm Alice." She said, introducing herself to the students, never for a moment letting her sweet and innocent appearance fade. Before either Jaden or Syrus could utter a single word, Hassleberry gently but swiftly pushed through Jaden, placing himself directly in the center of the three, his cheeks still maintaining their flushed and rosey color.

"Pleasure to meet you! Sargent Hassleberry, reporting for duty!" He asserted, seemingly dismissing the presence of his friends in favor of Alice. Clearly he had already become quite taken with the young beauty. "These two here are my subordinates."

"Yeah right." Syrus scoffed, annoyed at the younger's statement which of course was completely untrue considering Jaden was clearly the leader of their little group. "In your dreams."

"Isn't that cute?" Jaden asked, smiling at his young friend as a small chuckle escaped his lips. Though, his face certainly had more of an awkward sort of expression to it. "He's in love."

"How cool." Alice remarked, leaning slightly on the banister of the deck, placing her left hand under her chin, she leaned slightly on her left fist, while her right hand was more relaxed as she twirled her right pointer finger on the wooden banister, staring down at the young dinosaur enthusiast. "I've never met a real Sargent before."

Laughing awkwardly to themselves, Jaden and Syrus felt extremely weird about Alice's demeanor towards Hassleberry, though it wasn't necessarily strange or suspicious. Honestly, she really just appeared to be flirting. Still, there was something off putting about the aura she seemed to exude. Though writing it off as sheer stranger anxiety after still hardly knowing the girl, and with all the strange things that had been happening that year, Jaden thought nothing much of it. But Syrus still felt an uneasiness around her, despite certainly not ignoring how pretty she was. In fact, he almost wished Hassleberry hadn't been around to fawn over her, but he quickly brushed off that thought, ridiculous and trivial as it was.

"Well, why don't we go inside?" Alice suggested with a smile, descending the stairs down to the ground level, her hair and dress delicately bouncing and swaying with the downward motion on the stairs. "I'll make us some tea."

"Really?" Jaden asked, surprised she would offer something like that to people she hardly knew. But then again, she did seem to be a kind hearted young woman, and in that aspect it wasn't very surprising at all.

"That would be wonderful, ma'am!" Hassleberry answered quickly, the rosey blush fading from his cheeks, but his facial features still indicated the feeling had not left him. The overwhelmingly bright smile never leaving his face, he took a step closer to Alice, completely overcome with positive emotion.

"You're so sweet." Alice giggled, smiling at the dino duelist, she folded her hands in front of herself as she tilted her head slightly to the right, her beautiful silky curls shifting along with her. "But please, call me Alice."

"O-Of course, ma'am -er- Alice!" Hassleberry stuttered out, blushing all over again before following the giggling Alice inside the dorm's dining and sitting room. Jaden and Syrus lingered outside for a moment, speculating what the story behind this girl could be. Where had she even come from, and why here and now? It certainly was a mystery, but one best saved for after they had some delicious tea. Turning their gazes to one another for a brief moment, the pair proceeded to follow the other two inside the dorm, taking their seats beside one another at the table where Hassleberry had already sat down, staring admiringly at Alice, who stood by waiting for them to arrive.

"You boys wait here while I make the tea, alright? It'll only be a few minutes." She said, smiling sweetly at the boys before turning towards the kitchen, going inside before any of them have the time to answer her.

"Isn't she just the cutest thing you ever did see?" Hassleberry asked, blushing like mad now that she was out of sight and he could express his love at first sight to his friends without her around to make it feel a little bit awkward.

"I gotta admit, Hassleberry. She is pretty cute." Jaden chuckled, smiling at his young and freshly in love friend. Of course he was telling the truth about that, he did find Alice to be pretty cute. Most people would of course, since she was indeed very pretty with her kind eyes and gorgeous hair. But still, Jaden couldn't help but find it a little funny seeing Hassleberry fall so fast for a girl he had only just met. It didn't really seem to be in his nature to do.

"Yeah, but I still don't get why she's here, and where she came from." Syrus observed, turning his gaze towards the kitchen where Alice was still making the tea for them. "And why now after everything we just went through? It just seems suspicious to me."

"You think she might have some connection to Sartorius?" Jaden questioned, looking back to his closest friend, raising an eyebrow at the small blue haired boy.

"There's no way!" Hassleberry objected quickly, almost offended by the implication the other two were making. "She couldn't possibly have anything to do with him!"

"All I'm saying is I'm not completely ready to trust her like you are." Syrus said, crossing his arms, looking the dino duelist in the eyes with a stern and almost disapproving look glinting in his own adorable gray eyes.

"Alright you two," Jaden intervened, hoping to defuse the slowly growing tension between the two Ra's "there's no need to-"

"-The tea is ready!" Alice called from the kitchen, walking back out to the boys carrying three tea cups on a silver tray. "What were you three talking about?" placing the cups in front of the boys, Alice raised her eyebrow in intrigue, expressing her curiosity with more than just her words.

"Oh, nothing." Jaden said, shaking his head slightly before looking back up to the ebony haired girl as he slowly removed the saucer from the plate, not wanting to spill for fear of upsetting her. "Not to be rude, but what are you doing here...?"

"I'm a student." She answered, holding the empty tray to her chest, her tone seemed to shift slightly, to a slightly less assured sound. "I just transferred in."

"And the tea and cleaned dorm?" Syrus questioned, wondering why she had gone to such lengths as he took a sip of the admittedly delicious tea.

"W-Well, I knew you were back today. Soo, I thought I'd make a good first impression." Alice answered, seemingly stumbling through the first part of her statement, as if she had to think about what she was saying.

"Well it worked." Jaden replied, smiling sweetly as he was satisfied with the girl's answer. "So welcome to Duel Academy, Alice!"

"What do you mean you transferred...?" Syrus questioned, recalling a very important fact that poked a big hole in her story. "The only way to get into the school is to pass the-"

"-Don't bother her with the details!" Hassleberry snapped, the suddenness of the outburst causing Syrus to slightly choke on the tea he'd been drinking, coughing a small bit as the tea was expelled from his esophagus. Turning to the dino duelist, Alice herself seemed slightly surprised, but still she smiled at the young man, her smile causing his cheeks to glow with blush once again. "All that matters is she's here, and my lonely days are over!"

Alice giggled quietly to herself, amused by the blushing boy and his enthusiastic declarations of love. But somewhere behind her laughter and smiling eyes, a darkness lived. A deep seated darkness that had long been festering inside her own soul. She kept her deep blue eyes trained on the boys as they laughed and drank tea together. They were all so pure, so full of light that it seemed they could never be broken. But one glimmered with a much stronger light, a light Alice wanted now more than anything to try and extinguish, and plunge the boy into a deep and never ending despair. Such was her calling, and lot in life, to bring darkness and despair to others. Or at least, so she believed and interpreted her life to be meant for. And embrace that she had, keeping her eyes trained intently on the dino duelist, she could already feel the gears in her mind turning. To set herself free from the darkness bestowed upon her, which she had stored and collected over many, many years, adding to her own inner darkness until her very soul had become completely distorted and twisted, she made her final decision.

_"Since he claims to have feelings for me, the vessel of darkness and despair.." _She thought, chuckling darkly to herself, certain they wouldn't be able to hear over the conversation they had lost themselves in. _"Then I'll grant his wish, and make him mine. Forever."_

"So Alice," Syrus asked, turning his head to the ebony haired girl. Snapping her back from her thoughts, she made eye contact with him as he continued on, "you said you transferred." Syrus's expression morphed into a look of a somewhat suspicious skepticism. From the beginning he didn't trust her, despite the fact that she was overwhelmingly cute. But the fact the he didn't exactly buy her story wasn't helping either. "Where are you from, exactly...?"

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, quickly thinking up a response to the impromptu question. "Pretty far way." she answered, certain further details would only serve to make him more suspicious of her than he already seemed to be. Though truth be told, she, in this physical form, wasn't from very far away at all. Unless the boys thought the Academy was far from the dorm. "A small country I highly doubt you've heard of."

"Interesting." Syrus observed, still quite suspicious of her, but without any evidence that she was of ill intent, he couldn't really accuse her of anything without looking a fool. Besides, Jaden seemed to trust her, and Hassleberry was head over heels for her, so any accusation wouldn't make it too far anyway. But with both Chazz and Alexis lost to the Society of Light, Sy knew they couldn't be too careful. There was no such thing as too much caution as far as he was concerned at this point since his time at Duel Academy began, and he wasn't about to give up that philosophy because Hassleberry decided he had a crush on some supposed new girl.

"I just had a wonderful idea!" Alice declared, quickly making an attempt to segway away from anything having to do with her and who she was or where she came from. Besides, she'd rather not have to worry about taking out the other two boys if she didn't have to. After all, her target had already been set. "Tonight I'll make a big dinner for you all, and we can have a good time together!"

"That sounds really nice, Alice." Jaden said, smiling brightly at their new companion, happy that she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"See, ain't she just the sweetest!?" Hassleberry asked, proceeding to swoon over her once again as his cheeks turned bright red for the third time at least in the past hour. Completely taken with Alice, it was almost like he had forgotten the others were there after a few moments, focusing solely on her. Turning his eyes to Jaden, Syrus wondered if he somehow felt the same as he himself did, suspicious of Alice. Though considering his behavior towards her, Syrus doubted that Jaden had really realized how shifty and odd she seemed to be. Or even question anything at all after she mentioned she had supposedly transferred to the school, just recently enough to conveniently arrive right as they had returned from a trip where they had all had a pretty dicey run in with Sartorius' sister and her goons. It seemed too convenient to him.

"You're adorable." Alice giggled, offering Hassleberry a smile of her own before collecting the empty teacups and turning back toward the kitchen. "It's already afternoon, so I'll start getting ready to make dinner." she kept smiling as she walked back into the kitchen, but she was far from happy. For as long as she could remember she had never been truly happy in all of her life. Not that there really was much to speak about on that account. But even so, she was pleased her plan seemed to already be working.

_"I've cast my net." _She thought to herself as she carefully washed the saucers, turning her gaze slightly back to where the boys were still sat out in the dining room, chuckling quietly as a sadistic and evil smile crept slowly across her perfect face. _"Now all I have to do is wait for the right moment to catch him in it. Then I'll drag him back down into the darkness with me."_

The hours passed, and all seemed to still be relatively normal. Alice had been in the kitchen all afternoon, turning anyone away should they offer to help her with anything, though Syrus still kept a wary eye on her as well as he could. True, he didn't mind having a cute girl around, in fact he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought maybe he would have a shot with her at first, but he still couldn't shake his feeling that something wasn't quite right about her. A feeling Jaden didn't seem to share, which to be honest didn't surprise Syrus in the least. That's just the kind of person Jaden was after all, trusting to a fault and optimistic as all hell.

As night fell over the Island, Bastion found himself making his way down to the Slifer dorm. Not long before, Jaden had called asking him to come down there, but he hadn't mentioned what for. Of course, Jaden wasn't exactly one for giving details but at least a general idea would've been nice. But still, Bastion decided he had better go see what all the fuss was about.

_"Perhaps the others want to discuss what's been happening around here lately..?" _Bastion thought to himself as he walked down the path, approaching the dorm at an acceptably punctual speed. _"After all with this Sartorius and his Society of Light wreaking havoc, we've lost both Chazz and Alexis to him. We can ill afford to be careless anymore." _walking up to the dining room door, he slowly raised his hand and gently but firmly knocked his knuckles against the wood. _"Oh I do hope our troubles will be few. At least for now..."_

"Hey, Bastion." Jaden greeted with a smile, opening the door to meet the Brit's gaze, Syrus by his side as he always had been. "What's up?"

"You called me here, you tell me." Bastion replied, not at all surprised Jaden would do that.

"Oh, right!" Jaden exclaimed, chuckling quietly at himself, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "Well, um, a new student showed up today." he clarified, finally disclosing the reason he had requested that Bastion come down to the dorm.

"You made me come all the way here just for that...?" Bastion inquired, raising an eyebrow at the brunette before him.

_"Certainly not what I thought this would be about."_

"There's more." Syrus explained, taking the liberty of bestowing the information on their mutual friend. "She cooks, too."

"She what?" Bastion gasped, suddenly much more into the idea of a new student, much less a girl who could cook and was probably really pretty. They could've just seriously hit the jackpot! Stepping aside, Jaden and Syrus revealed the feast that Alice had prepared. Gourmet dishes filled the two closest tables to her, soups, cakes, meat, almost anything they could think of was before them. It was simply incredible. "You mean she made all of this just for you? Why?" looking at the adorable ebony haired girl, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Why, she was simply ravishing in every sense of the word, and yet there she was, spoon feeding the glorious dinner to _Hassleberry_ of all people.

"I guess she's just nice?" Jaden answered, not really sure what kind of answer Bastion had really been looking for.

"Yeah, well she's nicer to some than to others." Syrus commented, not amused in the slightest by both Alice and Hassleberry's behavior. In fact, to be honest, it was starting to annoy him more than a little bit. Turning to the two, the boys observed how strangely and overly nice she was being.

"Open wide." Alice said, a large and sweet smile on her face as she fed another spoonful of food to Hassleberry, who was clearly enjoying himself. "What do you think?"

"You're my soulmate!" He declared, the deep blushing in his cheeks even more noticeable than before, which was certainly saying something.

"Oh my..." Bastion reacted, recoiling slightly from the odd and awkward feeling coming over his own form. He certainly wasn't expecting to see that today. Or ever.

"I know right?" Jaden asked, turning his gaze back to his overly intelligent companion, an awkward and slightly cringing look came over his face, "He's got it bad."

"Wish I'd met her first." Bastion lamented, earning more than a few strange looks from Jaden and Syrus, who certainly weren't expecting him to react that way.

"Wha-"

"-N-Nothing!" Bastion defended, quickly diverting the subject away from his meant to be internal statement. "I said let's eat!"

"Oopsie! Someone's a little messy." Alice giggled, dabbing a napkin on the corners of Hassleberry's mouth, cleaning up a small bit of food left behind.

"Will you marry me?" Hassleberry asked joyously, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. It was very strange seeing Hassleberry of all people behaving this way. It was almost like watching somebody in a trance, seeing him fawn over Alice the way he was. It was starting to become extremely off putting. Smiling again at the dino duelist for a moment, Alice turned her eyes to the new boy in the room. not having met him yet, she gave a certain quizzical expression as she studied the new face.

"You okay, Bastion...?" Jaden inquired, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, Bastion was taken aback by Alice's gaze. His eyes widened and a quiet gasp escaped from his lips, almost as if he had been hit by a wave of distress washing over him. "Something wrong...?"

"Not really." Bastion answered back, shaking his head at the brunette by his side. "But I can't help but feel I've seen her somewhere before…"

"That line never works, Bastion." Syrus sighed, figuring he had some intent to start crushing on her like Hassleberry was as he continued munching on some of the dinner Alice had laid out so kindly for them. "Don't even try."

Thinking hard to himself, Bastion took a seat beside Syrus, wondering why he somehow couldn't remember where it was he could have sworn he'd seen Alice before. Her face was familiar to him, but his mind felt hazy and distorted every time he tried to remember. It was a sensation he had never experienced before in all his life. And to be certain if he wasn't concerned before, he was now.

_"That boy could be a problem." _Alice thought to herself, not even listening as Hassleberry fawned over her again. All that was on her mind was her plans, the plans she had in a sense come back to life to complete. And the perfect solution was sitting right beside her, she couldn't afford to let anyone interfere. _"If any of them try to get in my way, I'll stop them. But for now, Hassleberry is the only one I need to worry about. I need him to complete my mission. I need his despair, his broken spirit, to set my own free."_ she chuckled quietly under her breath, doing her best to contain her dark intentions through her own twisted excitement. _"Free to spread darkness and despair all throughout the world wherever I choose! And all I need is this boy's pure soul._"

"Well, it's getting late. I should probably turn in." Alice said, standing from her seat as she raised her hand up to her mouth, pretending to yawn convincingly enough so that they would actually believe her. Especially the skeptical little bluenette, he could prove to be an annoyance for sure.

"If you say so." Jaden replied, smiling his regular trusting smile as he offered her a small wave. "It was really nice meeting you today, Alice. Will we see you in class tomorrow?"

"Oh, um, maybe." She replied, fumbling through her words at first as she was honestly lying about everything she had told them. She was anything but a student, and she had more important things to do than waste her time following them around pretending she was one of them. "I doubt we're in the same ones."

"In any case, we'll see you around, I'm sure." Bastion nodded, still baffled by his fuzzy mental state, but not enough to decline a lady such a simple curtsey. "Have a good night, miss."

"Thank you." Alice nodded, smiling at the boys before turning to Hassleberry, turning on her charm and sweetness to a much higher level than it was as directed at the other three. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sargent." she giggled, leaning over and planting a soft kiss on his right cheek. Placing her hand lightly under his chin, her pale and dainty fingers caressed his face. Gazing into his eyes, she peered deeply into his soul. It was beautiful, and vibrant. Purity incarnate. All the more enticing for her to crush and shatter with her own hands, but she knew full well that despite her desires, she needed it intact. "Goodnight."

"That's a little much, isn't it?" Syrus mumbled quietly under his breath, careful to make sure she couldn't hear him as she walked past him on her way to the door.

"She's amazing…" Hassleberry sighed, touching his hand to his cheek where her lips had brushed his skin, his eyes for only a moment Syrus noticed, looked like they had glazed over in a quick second. Almost like a spell had been placed on him or something like that. It was concerning to be certain.

"She's also right." Bastion said, gesturing to his companions as he continued, "it's getting late, and we do have class tomorrow. I suggest we all turn in for the night."

"Good idea." Jaden nodded, gesturing as well for his friends to come along with him. "C'mon, let's go."

Hanging back on the side of the dorm, Alice poked her head around the corner, watching as the four boys exited the dorm's dining room and separated, and retreated to their rooms for the night. Keeping her gaze on Hassleberry until he disappeared from her sight, Alice smiled maliciously to herself, a dark aura emanating around her as she revelled in the thought of her spirit being free to leave the island at last.

"Tomorrow my dear Sargent. Tomorrow you'll be mine. Forever."


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

"Hey, Jaden!" Atticus called, waving as he rushed up to the brunette currently exiting Dr. Crowler's class, which had just adjourned for the day. The elder brunette had been in a much more somber mood since they had lost Alexis to the Society, especially without Chazz around either. Losing the two of them had really taken a toll on Atticus, but still he put on that signature smile around the remaining members of the J-Squad. "What's up?"

"Hey, Atticus." Jaden replied, smiling at the elder boy as he slowed to a stop beside him, a glimmer of sadness lingering in Atticus' eyes despite the smile on his face. "Not much, really. You?"

"I, uh, I saw Lexi today…" Atticus answered, slowly raising his right hand to rub the back of his neck, lowering his head slightly to the left as his eyes drifted around in that direction as well. "I tried to say hey to her, but she wouldn't even look at me…" his eyes told Jaden everything he needed to know about how Atticus was feeling. His beautiful chocolate eyes were so sad and distressed. Jaden couldn't blame him for feeling that way, his sister was his entire world. He loved her more than anyone, and she wasn't in a very good spot right now, having been brainwashed by Sartorius and all just like Chazz.. "I'm losing her, Jaden..."

"It'll be alright, Atticus." Jaden soothed, placing a comforting hand on the elder's shoulder, wanting nothing more than to help his dear friends find their way back to them. "We'll save her, I promise. Her and Chazz both, so don't you worry, alright?"

"If you say so, Jaden." Atticus sighed, shaking his head as he tried to think of some positives in his life for once, but after everything he had been put through, and everything that was happening now, that task was becoming increasingly more difficult. "I'm just worried is all."

"I know." Jaden sighed back, sharing the elder's feelings. "Tell you what, Atticus. A new girl showed up at our dorm yesterday. Her name's Alice, she's really nice and can seriously cook!" Smiling at the older boy, Jaden's eyes lit up as he relayed his new idea. "Let's catch up with the others and we'll introduce you. Cool?"

"Uh, sure." Atticus answered, nodding to the younger brunette, not opposed to the idea of meeting someone new, in fact he'd loved meeting new people ever since he was a child. "Sounds good."

"Sweet!" Jaden smiled, bringing Atticus along as he went to catch up with his remaining friends. There wasn't much they could do for Chazz and Alexis now, but Jaden promised he would find a way to save them, and that's exactly what he intended to do. For Atticus' sake as well as their own. He only hoped nothing would get in the way of that, giving him and the others a break for once, but knowing their luck, Jaden knew better than that at this point. "Let's go, then!"

"Alright." Atticus nodded, smiling a little more at the thought of spending time with good friends again. Of course the lineup was incomplete, but he knew it wouldn't stay that way as long as Jaden was on the case. After all, he defeated the Sacred Beasts, so what could possibly stand in his way now? Making their way down the halls, Jaden led Atticus out of the building and out into the courtyard. It was admittedly odd to see Jaden without the rest of the entourage, but Atticus figured it was only natural that they all wouldn't be together all the time. Besides, it seemed no matter where one would go, the rest would soon follow. So they would all be together soon. "So, who exactly is this Alice girl you mentioned before, Jaden?"

"Oh, right." Jaden chuckled as they walked down the path on the way to the Slifer dorm where the group typically converged. "Well like I said, she's a new student. She said she transferred from some obscure country we've never heard of, and she's real nice." he explained, turning his eyes to the elder student as he continued on, "Pretty cute, too. Hassleberry's head over heels for her already, and I guess she likes him too because she gives him pretty much all of her attention."

"Seriously?" Atticus inquired, raising an eyebrow at Jaden's statement. Being the secretly wise and astute man he was, and considering all he had been through himself since he began his time at the Academy, he was no stranger to suspicion. From what little Jaden had already said about her, something about it all just didn't sit right with him. "What do the others think...?"

"Well, Bastion's jealous of Hassleberry of course, but he'd never admit it." Jaden explained, thinking back to the previous night, recalling how his friends had reacted to the girl throughout. "I think she's nice, and she could totally find a place where she could fit in around here if she wanted. But Sy, I dunno. Sy doesn't seem to think we can trust her."

"He doesn't?"

"Yeah, but you know Syrus, he's always like that." Jaden said, waving his hand dismissively at the notion. True, his closest friend, and basically brother at this point was overly cautious at times, but usually that caution wasn't completely unwarranted.

"You know, Jaden, from what you've told me about her, I think Syrus might be onto something." Atticus observed, crossing his left arm around his chest, he brought his right hand up to his face, lightly sandwiching his bottom lip between his thumb and the joint of his pointer finger as he considered everything he had learned. It wasn't much, that was true, but it was enough for him to figure something wasn't quite right with this girl. Which of course he would have to confirm with himself after he actually met her to be completely certain.

"You think so?" Jaden questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion before turning his eyes back forward, looking upon the dorm slowly approaching. "But you haven't even met her yet...?"

"You know me, Jaden. I'm no stranger to being betrayed by someone you thought you could trust." Atticus asserted, his eyes serious and stoic, almost reminiscent of Zane in a way. The way he'd been last year. Before he changed. "And given what's been going on around here, I wouldn't be so quick to trust. But like you said, I haven't met her. Maybe she's not untrustworthy, but still. I'd be cautious for now, if I were you."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point." Jaden considered, thinking back upon the events of the current school year. Very few of those memories were very pleasant. Silence loomed over the two brunettes as they walked up to the Slifer dorm, both lost in their own particular thoughts. Approaching the dorm, they could already smell the aroma of freshly brewed tea coming from the dining room, needless to say they had a pretty good idea of where the others were. Walking into the dining room, Atticus' eyes were immediately drawn to the face he didn't recognize. The girl was very pretty, every feature as completely flawless as the next in an almost eerie kind of perfection. She stood beside the table where Syrus, Hassleberry, and Bastion were seated, carefully pouring cups of tea for the boys seated beside her.

"Hey, guys." Jaden greeted, walking over to the table to see his friends.

"Welcome back, Jaden." Alice replied, offering a smile as she continued to pour the tea, serving the boys as she filled each porcelain teacup before her blue eyes wandered to the taller brunette behind him, smiling sweetly at the new face. "And who's this?"

"Atticus Rhodes, miss." Atticus introduced, doing his best to be polite, despite how suspicious he was considering what Jaden had told him before. "I'm another one of Jaden's friends."

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you." She said, offering a small curtsey, pulling out another teacup for him, although he couldn't tell from exactly where. "I'm Alice. Would you like some tea as well?"

"Thank you, Alice, I'd love some." Atticus smiled as he and Jaden sat down with the others, though his caution levels continued to remain relatively high, and _would_ until he was proven false about her. But he sincerely doubted that was going to happen. Just being in her presence he could sense something seriously wrong with her. Alice's aura was thick and dark, and from his time as Nightshroud, Atticus was more than familiar with dark auras and energies by now.

"Ain't she an angel...?" Hassleberry fawned, staring longingly at the ebony haired beauty even as he sipped the tea she had served him, a pink shroud adorning his cheeks. Jaden certainly hadn't been kidding about Hassleberry's crush. The boy was positively smitten with the girl, and that wasn't even being generous about it.

"Well she's certainly kind, if that's what you're asking." Bastion chuckled, indulging the boy as he sipped his tea. It was true he was slightly jealous of the feminine attention Hassleberry was getting, but even _he_ wasn't completely sure about Alice and her intentions. But considering the current state of the school and everything that was going on, it wasn't a surprise that most everyone was suspicious of most everything, much less a conveniently timed supposed transfer student.

"You're all so nice." Alice gigged, serving Atticus his tea before taking her own seat beside Hassleberry to join them in partaking the warm beverage. "So, Atticus, is it? Tell me about yourself."

"W-Well-"

"-He's our friend Alexis' older brother." Jaden cut in, babbling on as usual since he seemed to never know when to shut the hell up. It was an endearing quality, really. "He should've graduated last year, but since he disappeared from the abandoned dorm-"

"-Jaden!" Syrus quickly scolded, narrowing his large eyes at his best friend, not overly fond of letting a suspicious stranger know about the dark happenings of the past. Besides, the mention of the abandoned dorm was making Atticus visibly uncomfortable, which of course, Jaden didn't seem to have noticed while he was rambling on as usual. "I don't think Atticus wants to talk about that."

"Oh…sorry, Atticus." Jaden apologized, deflating as he realized how insensitive he must've sounded, as well as how rude he was for stepping in on Atticus's introduction. But his excitement had gotten the best of him yet again it seemed. "I should've known better…"

"No, no, it's alright." Atticus replied, shaking his head before offering the brunette a soft and forgiving smile. "It's all in the past. Besides, we can't just pretend it didn't happen."

"Abandoned dorm...?" Alice inquired, raising her eyebrow as a look of intrigue and curiosity came across her scarily perfect face. Something clicked in her mind at the thought of what opportunities could present themselves to her given this new development.

"That's right."Atticus nodded, still not comfortable telling her, but there really wasn't any going back now. "The old Obelisk Blue dorm. It's strictly off limits now, so don't go wandering around there alright? It's not safe. Plus, you could get in serious trouble if you're caught there."

"I see..." Alice wondered, her mind wandering to the dorm again. There was an infinite amount of potential for her plan in the building, an abandoned dorm that was strictly forbidden for students to go to. Plenty of privacy and seclusion out there.

"Well now," Bastion said, clapping his hands together as he smiled at the group. "why don't we talk about something cheery for a change? It would do us all some good."

"Good idea, Bastion." Syrus nodded, taking a small sip of his own tea. He also really didn't feel comfortable with letting Alice know about the abandoned dorm, considering the fact that he didn't trust her even in the slightest right from the start. And also considering the interest she showed in the dorm was raising more than a few red flags in Syrus's mind.

"Great!" Jaden declared, more than willing to jumpstart a lively discussion. "So today in Crowler's class-"

Jaden's voice faded from Alice's focus as her thoughts wandered from one thing to the next. Cleaning up the empty teacups as the boys laughed and talked, she re-entered the kitchen. Placing the cups in the sink, she sighed in pity of the children before chuckling darkly to herself. Everything was slowly falling into place around her. The perfect plan, the perfect victim, and now the perfect location had fallen into her hands.

"All I have to do is lure Hassleberry to this abandoned dorm, and his soul will be mine for the taking." She chuckled, careful to be quiet enough so they wouldn't be able to hear her in the dining room, though with the volume of their own conversation, she figured they wouldn't be able to hear her anyway. "And seeing how hard he's fallen for me, getting him there should be a simple task." laughing again to herself for a moment, something caught her eye. Out of the corner of her right eye, Alice caught a glimpse of a small form moving around, stopping a distance away from her. Turning her head, she looked at the small mass, revealing the resident dorm cat, Pharaoh, looking her way. Frowning at the cat, Pharaoh growled at Alice, hissing as his fur stood on end. Pharaoh was an intuitive cat, and with the spirit of his owner residing inside of his stomach, he had a sort of boost to that intuition. Pharaoh knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that there was more than a little bit wrong with this girl.

"What a nuisance." She muttered, her eyes glowing a deep reddish pink as they narrowed, a deep and threatening snarl escaped her perfect lips, effectively frightening Pharaoh. If the kitty didn't know any better by staring at her, he would've thought there was a lion or something like that growling at him. The sound that emanated from her was far from human. In fact, the poor frightened kitty wasn't quite sure she was human at all. Meowing in fear, Pharaoh ran from the kitchen. Barreling towards the jovial boys, he hopped quickly up into Atticus's lap, snuggling into the eldest student for comfort.

"Whoa, what's gotten into you, Pharaoh?" Atticus asked, raising an eyebrow at the cat before giving him a comforting pat. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Well that's simply impossible." Bastion stated, crossing his arms and slightly rolling his eyes at the idea of ghosts. Despite every unexplainable thing he had seen in his life, Bastion never once believed that ghosts were possible, let alone real. "There's no such thing as ghosts. And besides, the only thing back there is Alice."

"Yeah! And she's as cute and sweet as can be!" Hassleberry assured, more than ready to talk about how much he adored the little lady. "Why she'd never hurt a fly!"

"Well _something _spooked Pharaoh." Syrus reiterated, turning his eye to the kitchen, more than a little suspicious of Alice in comparison to beforehand. "And to be perfectly honest, I don't trust Alice as far as I could throw her."

"How can you say that? She's an angel!" Hassleberry protested, offended that his friend would think so little of the love of his life. "You're just jealous because she likes me and not you."

"WHAT!?" Syrus nearly shouted, honestly offended that he would suggest such a thing all things considered. "Why would I be jealous of _you_? And over _her _of all people? I haven't trusted her from the beginning!"

"Knock it off, guys!" Jaden ordered, not wanting to see his two best buddies fight, but also because he was fully aware that Alice could probably hear everything they were saying, and it wasn't all good. So in the interest of not offending the girl, Jaden opted to scold the two unlike usual when he would just let them work it out themselves. After all, Syrus and Hassleberry weren't exactly strangers to petty disagreements. "Now's no time to start going at each other's throats, got it?"

"Yeah, you're right, Jay..." Syrus sighed, shaking his head in disapproval of their petty squabble for once.

"Sorry about that, Sarge." Hassleberry apologized, not so much ashamed of himself for getting so heated as he was ashamed that he had made Jaden feel the need to scold him for stepping out of line. "But Truesdale started it."

"I did not!" Syrus protested, exponentially frustrated with the younger boy and his relentlessly stubborn disposition, which in fact was the cause of many of the squabbles that the two had had over the school year.

"Well either way, it doesn't matter." Atticus asserted, intent on putting an end to the matter once and for all. Giving Pharaoh a comforting snuggle, Atticus turned his eyes briefly to the kitchen where Alice remained cleaning the dishes, a task she was clear about doing on her own. Admittedly, he didn't trust her either, he had told Jaden as much. But now clearly wasn't quite the time to voice those concerns. "How about we focus on rescuing Chazz and Alexis?"

"Indeed, that is an urgent matter." Bastion agreed, content to change the topic of conversation to one more productive. "We have to free them for Sartorius' control before anything else terrible befalls them."

"Right." Jaden nodded, deeply concerned for the wellbeing of his dear friends. He felt like in a way, it was his fault they ended up brainwashed. That he was responsible for them and all the other students basically being kidnapped by that madman. His fault for running away and not being there to protect Chazz, the first to fall to Sartorius' power, and stop the domino effect that it had caused. He had to make it right somehow. "Let's get brainstorming, guys. Let's get our friends back!"

"We're with you, Sarge!" Hassleberry declared, smiling to his dear friend and elder, more than ready to launch a full on rescue mission to get Chazz and Alexis back. He wasn't really that close to them, especially Chazz, but they were Jaden's friends. And that was good enough for him.

_"How cute. Human optimism is so endearing." _Alice thought, listening in on the conversation from the kitchen. Chuckling quietly to herself, she frowned, thinking back on their prior words.

"I see the little one doesn't trust me." She observed, thinking back on what the little bluenette had said. "Well then, maybe it's time I give him a reason not to." her frown changed starkly into a dark and malicious smile, scheming up her plan for capturing her prey. The boy was vulnerable and desperately in love. He would follow her anywhere should she only say the word.

_"Tonight." _she thought to herself, chuckling darkly once more before poking her head around the kitchen window to fix her eyes on the muscular teddy bear sat beside his dear friends. _"Tonight, you'll be mine."_

* * *

"Well, goodnight you guys." Atticus said, waving to the younger boys as he headed to the room he was borrowing in the Slifer dorm. Since the Obelisk dorm had been overtaken by the Society of Light, it wasn't safe for him to stay there anymore until the matter was resolved. And as one of the few remaining Obelisk Blue students, and one of the top duelists in the school, they realized he could very easily be targeted next. So Jaden suggested he hide out in the Slifer dorm for a while, it being the safest place to be considering the Society wasn't targeting the Slifers, baring Jaden himself of course.

"See you guys tomorrow." Syrus replied, heading down the path to the Ra dorm with Bastion and Hassleberry in tow. Normally they would just crash with Jaden, but they figured it was probably about time they went back to their own dorm for a bit, if nothing else than to keep the Ra Yellow headmaster from feeling too lonely again. And besides, Bastion was intent on doing some research, looking into their new female acquaintance.

"Later!" Jaden said, smiling as his friends returned to their dorm, walking back up the deck stairs to his own room to crash for the night. Closing the door behind him as he entered the room, Jaden removed his red jacket before stripping off his black t-shirt, revealing his pale but slightly muscular torso hidden beneath. Throwing the garments onto his desk chair, Jaden took up the soft jacket of his Duel Academy tracksuit-esque pjs and shrouded his upper body in the warm and comfortable fabric before switching out his snow white jeans for the jacket's matching sweatpants, turning the dorm's lights out before slipping under his bedsheets. Laying there on the bottom of the triple bunk, his mind wandered back to what Atticus had said before

* * *

_"You know me, Jaden. I'm no stranger to being betrayed by someone you thought you could trust." Atticus asserted, his eyes serious and stoic, almost reminiscent of Zane in a way. the way he'd been last year. Before he changed. "And given what's been going on around here, I wouldn't be so quick to trust. But like you said, I haven't met her. Maybe she's not untrustworthy, but still. I'd be cautious for now, if I were you."_

* * *

_"Maybe Atticus is right...?" _He thought, unable to clear his mind of his slowly growing uncertainty, as well as the ominous feeling in his gut. _"Maybe I shouldn't trust her…"_ yawning quietly, Jaden rolled over on his side, his back facing the room as he stared at the blank wall now in front of him, proceeding to feel much more comfortable and relaxed in his new position. Not to mention sleepy.

"Well, either way...it's bedtime..." he mumbled quietly to himself, slowly closing his beautiful brown eyes in favor of greeting the sweet release of a good night's sleep. Although he did hope that in the morning, perhaps his worries would subside.

* * *

Sitting down on his bed, stretching out his leg for the night to keep the dinosaur bone in his leg from getting stiff in the night, Hassleberry yawned, raising his arms in the air and stretching further before flopping back onto his mattress, ready to turn in for the night.

"What a day..." He sighed, throwing his right arm over his eyes, thinking back on the day's events within the silence of his own quarters. Normally it didn't bother him so much having an argument with Syrus, since it was a recurring experience for the two boys, but he couldn't help but feel the need to reprimand him for what he said about Alice. She was such a sweet and wonderful young lady, he couldn't understand why the little one would be so skeptical and untrusting of her. What had she possibly done to warrant such negativity when all she had done up to that point was be kind to them?

_"I'll never understand that boy..."_

Laying there in silence a moment longer, his thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking on his door. Removing his arm from overtop his eyes, Hassleberry turned his gaze to the door, curious as to who would be knocking at this hour. They had left Jaden's at just around midnight, so it stood to reason most people if not everyone would be in bed by now. Having spent slightly too long pondering the soft knock sounded again, being sure to catch his full attention this time.

"Hang on, I'm comin'." He said, yawning quietly as he walked over to the door, gently grasping his hand around the door knob before slowly opening it, trying to keep as quiet as possible out of courtesy to the other students who were no doubt sleeping.

"Oh good, I was starting to think you wouldn't answer." Giggling to herself, Alice looked to the sleepy boy in front of her, offering a smile as his own expression changed to one of certain surprise, definitely not expecting to see her on the other side of his door.

"Alice?" Hassleberry questioned, confused, but not at all displeased by her graceful presence. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I want you to come explore the abandoned dorm with me." She answered plainly, not about to beat around the bush with her intentions behind the late night visit. "I'm sure you're as curious about it as I am."

"Well yeah, of course I am. But Atticus said it's not safe." Hassleberry advised, hesitant about the idea of going somewhere dangerous without the others, and _double_ hesitant about Alice going at all. "Besides, it's off limits-"

"-Which is why I'm asking _you _to go with me." Alice informed, grabbing his hand and holding it gently in both of her own, a sweet and loving glint sparking in her eyes as she gazed into his own. "I'd hate to go exploring without my big, strong Sargent to protect me."

"Oh! W-well when you put it that way..." Hassleberry said, a nervous and awkward laughter escaping from his lips as his heart melted in his chest, overflowing with a loving feeling for the adorable young lady. Something about her just made him weak to her every word and movement. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever known…

"Great!" Alice exclaimed. Smiling brightly at the boy, she kept his hand held firmly in her own as she pulled him out of the room, not even bothering to make sure the door was closed before leading him down the hallway and out of the Ra Yellow dormitory, intent on taking him to the abandoned dorm. "I can't wait to explore the place!"

"Well, Jaden told me if we're found there we could be expelled. So let's make it quick, alright, Alice...?" He cautioned, not wanting her to get in trouble, but also not wanting to disappoint Jaden and the others by not listening to their warnings and advice concerning said dorm, and the consequences it would bring upon him and Alice should they be discovered snooping around, especially so long after dark.

"Oh, don't worry, no one's going to find us there." Alice advised, a deep malicious smile creeping its way across her face as the two young ones entered the forest, walking down the path she had found led to the abandoned dorm. Despite it being off limits to students, it was surprisingly easy to find, deep in the forest as it was considering it was once a functioning dormitory where students lived. _"__Trust me."_

_"Because when I'm through with you, my sweet Hassleberry, no one will ever find you again." _She thought to herself as they walked down the path in relative silence. The scene around them as they continued on was haunting to say the least. Only moonlight illuminating the dark woods, moonbeams shining through the leaves on the treetops looming over the dimly lit path, the way ahead shrouded in a thick veil of darkness. Every fiber of Hassleberry's animal instincts was screaming at him to turn back, telling him something just wasn't right, but he couldn't help but be fixated by the deep darkness. With Alice's hand over his own as she led him deeper into the forest, he felt a tingling sensation come over his body, emanating from the hand hers had clasped itself around. It felt as if he couldn't let go of her even if he tried. Walking in further silence, Alice's eyes lit up as they beheld the sight of the abandoned dorm on the horizon, picking up the pace as she realized time was quickly passing.

"There it is!" she exclaimed, escalating to a jog with Hassleberry in tow, her hand clasping tighter around his own, not about to let her prey out of her grasp. "Spooky, huh?"

"You've got that right." Hassleberry observed, taking in every crack in the walls, each and every shattered window. It was hard to believe the dorm had only been abandoned for a few short years. The decrepit building looked like it had been untouched for at least twenty years or so. Needless to say, it was more than just a little unsettling to the young man.

"Aren't you curious to find out what's inside?" Alice asked eagerly, releasing Hassleberry's hand from her gentle embrace, hurrying to his side and for a moment wrapping her arms around his own, rooting him to the spot in her hold as she smiled excitedly up at the handsome youth. "I'll go see if anyone's around. You stay here." she ordered before he could even answer her question, taking off back down their entrance path a short ways, but still far enough to leave his line of sight due to the darkness shrouding the forest.

"B-But Alice!" He called after her, not entirely cool with her going off on her own in the dark woods. He doubted anyone was around this late at night, but still he couldn't help but feel an uneasiness in his gut standing there alone by the abandoned building. Taking a moment of thought, Hassleberry decided it would be a good idea to go along after her. Turning fully back to the path behind him, he was just about to make his way over in her direction, when the silence of the night around him shattered by a cry of fear piercing through the quiet veil that surrounded him.

"Alice!" Hassleberry shouted fearfully, afraid for the safety of his lovely little lass. Reaching his arm out forward as he stepped out, he fumbled. Quickly catching himself as he stumbled down, finding that his feet wouldn't move from their spot on the ground.

"W-What the hell!?" he gasped, reaching down and pulling on his boots, trying to pry his feet off of the ground, but it was almost as if the ground had decided to hold him hostage. "Alice!" calling frantically into the darkness, he turned his gaze quickly from side to side, listening intently for any sign of her, hoping with his entire being that she was alright. Fear taking hold of him as the silence returned, the atmosphere thickened around him, his animal instincts screaming at him to run, but his feet still wouldn't move from their spot on the ground. Breathing quickly and heavily as his emotions took hold, Hassleberry felt his senses shroud in a haze of confusion and fear. The snap of a branch behind his back echoed through the ephemeral silence, causing Hassleberry to stiffen in fear for the slightest moment before the pain in his head registered within him. The branch hadn't cracked underneath someone's foot, more so than it had shattered against the back of his skull. The thick and heavy branch had smacked into him with an almost inhuman force, enough damage caused to steal away his consciousness. Hassleberry's eyes closing slowly, he dropped down to his knees, falling to the ground with a thud, the broken half of the branch laying by his side as he landed. Sight fading away until everything was black, and the deep sleep overcame him.

_"Alice…."_


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

Groaning wearily as a great throbbing pain arose in his head, Hassleberry slowly opened his eyes, vision blurred and clouded over as a black shadowy fog faded from the edges of his vision. He couldn't remember what had happened, the last thing he knew, he was with Alice, standing outside of the abandoned dorm. She had wanted to explore it after Jaden and the others told her about it, and he had agreed to go along since he'd never been there himself, and it was supposed to be dangerous, no way was he going to let his angel go someplace like that on her own in the middle of the night! But as they stood there outside, he remembered a heavy and sharp pain suddenly surge through his body, and he fell to the ground, eyesight fading fast as consciousness left him. No doubt that's where the pain in his head had come from. Blinking rapidly, Hassleberry quickly cleared his vision. Looking around him all he could see was a dark and dank room, filled with rundown furniture and slowly fading paintings. And positively brimming head to toe with cobwebs and other unsightly signs of insectly inhabitants.

"Where am I…?" He mumbled quietly, still quite groggy from his impromptu nap. There was almost no question he was inside the abandoned dorm, having asked the question, he had more or less already answered it for himself, but it seemed there was no escaping the inevitable and cliché inquiry. Instinctively going to reach for the back of his head to try and ease the throbbing pain, Hassleberry quickly discovered a pressing issue. Turning his head slightly upwards, he quickly took note of a very crucial fact. His wrists had been bound tightly with ropes, and had been suspended above his head by another length of rope tied to the metal frame of a wall mounted lamp, well secured to the wall his back now leaned against. Looking through the one window on the far left side of the room, he could see the orange and pink color of the early morning sky. The sun was beginning to rise outside, telling him that he had been there unconscious nearly all night. That, and the throbbing in his shoulders from his arms having to hold up his limp body for more than a few hours considering the position he found himself in now. Pulling against his restraints, Hassleberry tried to break himself free, but it didn't do him any good with his arms hurting and sore as they were. Sighing in frustration, Hassleberry shook his head, more than annoyed with his present situation. "I knew we shouldn't've come out here!"

Gasping suddenly, his eyes widened for a moment as the memories of the night returned to him. The dark and silence, Alice's scream, and the pain striking through his entire being. It was all coming back, slowly, but clearly enough that he could recall everything he had felt in that short span of time. All the fear was lingering, almost as strong as it had been that night. If he was attacked and trapped here, what about Alice? Was she alright? Had she managed to get away? All the questions spun around and around in his mind, clouding his heart with a wide range of mixed emotions, but still fear managed to overtake them all.

"Alice!" He called out into the abandoned building, nearly frantic as he worried for the innocent girl. "Alice where are you!? Are you in here somewhere!?" shouting into the dim and practically empty room around him, Hassleberry's cries were answered only by the echoing of his own worried voice as it carried itself through the abandoned halls, silence soon overtaking them again. It seemed Alice wasn't anywhere around to hear him, or if she was, she was probably unconscious like he had been up until that point.

_"I've gotta get outta here..." _He thought, sighing quietly before looking back over to the window, seeing the sun continue to ever slowly rise over the horizon beyond the forest trees. _"I've gotta make sure Alice is okay. And on top of that, if we don't get back soon, the Sarge'll be worried about us. And he's got enough to worry about already!" _attempting to pull himself free ,he quickly cried out, inhaling sharply with a slight hiss as the pain in his shoulders shot up and down his body. Realizing that applying pressure to them probably wasn't the best idea for now.

"So that's how it is, huh...?" He asked himself, sighing as he lowered his head in defeat. "Gonna try and make me wait this out?" the throbbing pain in his shoulders and running up and down the remainder of his arms was answer enough to that question. Struggling was useless for now unless he wanted to legitimately hurt himself, not that he wanted to admit it. "This is ridiculous, I should be able to bust outta here no problem!" huffing out a breath of frustration, he sighed quietly, knowing full well getting annoyed wasn't going to help. Even with his higher level of strength he was still just a human boy. But he could already feel himself slowly getting better, soon he would have the shoulder strength back to free himself, find Alice, and get the hell out of there.

_"Sorry, Sarge, but looks like I'll be sittin' out for a little while longer." _ He thought to himself, still quite ashamed for getting himself into this mess, but it was going to be alright, he knew that. It just had to be, after all, there was nothing Hassleberry couldn't handle! _"Soon as I can get myself outta here without hurting myself too much, I'll find Alice and bust us outta here! But for now I guess, all I can really do is sit tight and wait. But whatever it was that did this to me and Alice, well first thing's first. They're gonna pay!"_

"You can't keep me here!" Hassleberry called out into the dorm, his angered shout echoing through the vacant halls as his eyes narrowed, and assumed their occasional reptilian style. "You hear me!? I'll find you, and you'll pay for this!" silence greeted him again as his echoing shouts faded away. Whoever or whatever was responsible didn't seem keen on revealing itself just yet. But sooner or later, Hassleberry knew he would find them and make them pay. But even as he fueled his rage, his animal instincts weren't so sure. In fact they wanted nothing more than for him to get out of there and as far away as he could as soon as possible. After all, more often than not, these things seemed to always get worse before they got better…

* * *

Yawning loudly and obnoxiously as he took his seat, Jaden settled into his desk, waiting patiently for his friends as they filed in along with him. It was a miracle he was awake in time to make it to class, but it wasn't a new occurrence. If he wasn't skipping class, he was sleeping through it, so technically he was there most of the time, at least in the physical sense. Mental presence on the other hand, was a completely different issue to be handled separately it seemed. Looking around him at the sea of white coats all around them, his heart sank as his eyes locked on two particularly familiar faces in the crowd. Chazz and Alexis sat side by side in the center of the sea of white, surrounded by the Society's other pour souls that had been taken over by Sartorius and the Light of Destruction. Their eyes, though he couldn't see them, were glassy and hazed in a fog most nobody could see. But one look at his friends and that was just about all he could see. The two of them shrouded in Sartorius' evil mist, but somewhere deep inside, their true selves laid dormant, waiting for someone to set them free once again.

_"Soon, guys." _Jaden thought, looking longingly at his two dear friends, his desire to free them only growing day by day. _"I promise, I'll save you both. Just hang in there a little longer…"_

"Well I say, that certainly is odd."

"Huh?" Jaden asked, tuning back in to the conversation his friends were having around him, completely lost as to what the context of Bastion's remark could have been.

"I just said that Hassleberry isn't here." Syrus reiterated, informing Jaden of their present conversation. "And class is about to start."

"Isn't that weird?" Atticus inquired, already suspicious enough to have his own theory as to where the younger boy might be. In fact he was certain he wasn't the only one thinking it either.

"Aw, he probably just overslept." Jaden dismissed, not really worried. He knew Hassleberry could more than take care of himself, so he couldn't possibly be in any trouble. Of course, he couldn't forget what happened back in Domino, but he highly doubted the boy would find himself in such a position twice, and so soon at that. "I mean I do it all the time. Don't worry about it, Sy."

"Well...I guess.." Syrus replied, not quite as convinced as Jaden was. Of course, most nobody ever was the majority of the time. Jaden was optimistic to a fault after all. Still, Syrus worried for their youngest friend, it wasn't like him to miss class, especially when he was crashing their classes when he didn't have his own to go to. Perhaps he was sick? Or more likely, he figured Alice had something to do with it. He never trusted her, and he wasn't going to start now. "But I still think it's weird."

The class went on fairly uneventful as usual, Crowler giving a lecture about different dueling techniques as was his specialty as the department chair of techniques. But Hassleberry never showed, an extremely odd occurrence, though Jaden still didn't seem to really mind. After all, he missed class himself all the time, so it really wasn't such a big deal to him. But the others weren't entirely convinced considering everything else that had been going on all throughout the school year. Walking back out of the classroom together, the four boys entered the hallway, keeping their eyes out for the younger boy in case he simply decided not to crash their class for once, though that idea was unlikely to be sure. Scanning the sea of students, there was no sight of their dinosaur loving friend anywhere around them. But as they walked, a series of frightening and unsettling statements fell on their ears.

"Hey did you hear what happened last night?"

"They say he just vanished!"

"Hassleberry's gone! He went missing last night, from what the rumors say."

"Nobody knows where he is, or what happened."

"Do you think it was the society?"

"Gone?" Syrus questioned, his voice wavering with worry as the students continued gossiping around them, all abuzz with the apparently pressing rumors surrounding their dear friend. "W-What do they mean _gone_?"

"They said it was a rumor." Bastion observed, keeping his ear open for any more information they could reveal with their idle gossip, which might not actually be gossip at all if it was true. "I'm not sure I would put much stock in it."

"They said what happened to me was a rumor at first too." Atticus informed, crossing his arms as they continued on, slowly making their way back outside to the academy courtyard. "Back when I first disappeared and people started noticing, the teachers tried to convince people that it was only a rumor, and that me and the rest of the missing students had just gone off to study abroad. I don't believe in rumors."

"But there's no way anything like that could happen to Hassleberry!" Jaden protested, refusing to believe that the young man would get himself into trouble on his own turf. It just wasn't like him. Sure there was Domino, but the circumstances were completely different, and the society was directly involved in that. Besides, Syrus had been kidnapped too. "He's the toughest guy I know. No way would he let anything like that happen!"

"Calm down, Jaden, we can't be sure of anything yet." Bastion soothed, trying to calm the brunette before he got too fired up about it without knowing all of the facts. Something Jaden was prone to doing on occasion given the right circumstances. "Let's go back to the dorm and look for him. We have to figure this out on our own."

"Bastion's right." Atticus agreed, nodding along with what Bastion had said. "Let's do some investigating, shall we? Only way to know for sure what's up is to find out for ourselves."

"Right." Jaden sighed, nodding in agreement with the elder student, still not quite believing that anything was really wrong, but part of him knew it was ridiculous to be in such denial over it. But that was just it. He didn't want to believe that he could have lost another friend, no matter how or why. Jaden couldn't bare the thought of another one of his friends being taken away from him and there being nothing he could do about it. Taking a calming breath, he led the others down to the Ra dorm. The most logical place to begin an investigation would certainly be the last place they knew him to be. The place was quiet, but that wasn't abnormal so close to class getting out. Most students were still at the Academy, but a few did wander around the dorm's grounds. Roaming the halls as casually as they could, the four boys walked down to Hassleberry's room. Opening the now closed door, Jaden poked his head inside, greeted by a clean and empty bedroom, not a dino duelist in sight. Which wasn't exactly reassuring for Jaden's nerves.

"He's not here." Syrus observed, taking his own look around the room. Nothing looked to be out of the ordinary, everything was tidy and there were no signs or any kind of squabble. So if anything happened to him, it was fair to say it wasn't anywhere around here. "Do you think he's back at the Slifer dorm?"

"I doubt it. Not while the rest of us aren't there." Atticus said, shaking his head at the idea as he doubted it would have come to pass. Hassleberry really wasn't one for being alone, that much he knew about the younger boy. "Where else would he have gone?"

"That's hard to say…" Bastion wondered, trying to come up with an answer himself that would be satisfactory for all of them to agree with, though his attempts were proving to be quite fruitless.

"Hey!"

Turning quickly to the voice from down the hall, the four laid their eyes on Alice's small form as she hurried down to meet them, a concerned look adorning her face as she approached with haste. Quietly panting as she came to a halt before them, Alice leaned over and placed her hands on her knees as she took a moment to quickly catch her breath.

"Alice?" Atticus asked, raising an eyebrow at the young girl, surprised to see her here in all honesty.

"I-I heard something happened to Hassleberry last night!" She declared, worry covering her face while her eyes quickly turned from one boy to the other, looking for an answer. "Is it true? Is he really gone?"

"We can't say for certain just yet." Bastion informed, not about to jump to conclusions like it seemed most everyone else was about the whole thing. It was perfectly logical that this whole thing was an exaggeration blown completely out of proportion by a paranoid student body. "I think it would be best to investigate this matter ourselves before coming to any definitive conclusions."

"Well yeah I-I suppose you're right..." Alice said, her tone changing drastically from worry to hesitation, as if she wasn't really sure how to react to what Bastion had said, despite how logical and sensible of a solution it was.

"Right." Atticus agreed, turning his eyes away from Alice, in a state of mind where he didn't really even want to acknowledge her presence, as In his mind, _she_ was a prime suspect in all of this. "Let's keep looking for him. He has to be around here somewhere."

"I hope he's okay..." Alice replied, doing her best to keep up her façade around them. The last thing she wanted was for them to catch on to her plot. If the four of them discovered what was happening, then her entire plan would be ruined! "He's so sweet...I'd hate to see him get hurt..."

"He's gonna be fine, Alice, don't worry about it." Jaden reassured, equally meaning the words for himself as much as he did for her. Jaden couldn't help but worry about his friend even at such an early stage of the investigation. "We won't let anything happen to him, I promise."

"Yes, indeed." Bastion concurred, nodding along with the brunette's comment. "We'll get to the bottom of this and set it right. So don't worry."

"Right...thanks." Alice said, turning her back to the group, not wanting them to see the frown crawling across her face as her dissatisfaction with the situation began to surface. "I-I should get going...I have some stuff I have to do."

"See you later then, Alice." Syrus said, trying to sound sincere, though he really would rather not to see her again once she left. She'd weirded him out from the start, and now with Hassleberry supposedly MIA, he was even less fond of her presence than he was before. As far as Sy was concerned, she had to have something to do with it, but until they had any proof of that, he wasn't going to make a huge deal about it. At least not outwardly.

"Yes, of course." She replied, glancing back at the little blue boy before offering a slight nod. "I'll be sure to let you all know if I hear anything about Hassleberry."

"Alright. Thank you, Alice." Atticus nodded, his own suspicion having risen quite a bit since she appeared, especially now that she was conveniently leaving after they expressed their desire to figure out what was going on.

"See you all later." She said, waving quickly before heading back out, leaving the four boys to their own devices. She couldn't let them catch on to her plan, if they did she would be stuck in this physical form forever! Without Hassleberry's pure soul, she could never assume her true form again, and she would stay trapped in the body of a doll. But she couldn't just sacrifice him and have that be the end of it, she knew far better than that. To do it the old fashioned way that she was more accustomed to, he would have to be in a vulnerable enough state for his soul to be properly extracted. And a soul as pure as his had to be extremely well fortified…

_"If I want to get this done in time, I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands even sooner than I thought…"_

* * *

"Dammit!" Hassleberry muttered under his breath, tired of being tied up and unable to do anything about it. His shoulders were feeling much better now that he was able to hold himself up on his own now that he was fully conscious, but still, his struggles were proving useless to him. "I've gotta get out of here! I've gotta find Alice and get back to the others!" Pulling against the ropes binding his wrists again, he focused all of his strength into his arms, pushing passed the lingering pain. His shoulders were all but healed by now, and he certainly didn't forget how long he'd been standing around when he could've escaped. He could never forget all the time wasted, but still he could feel a pressure around him, making his every attempt at the moment so much harder than they would normally be. It felt like whatever mysterious force was holding him before when Alice needed him was spreading throughout the rest of his body, impairing his attempts at escape. Without the pressure holding him down, he could've easily broken himself free hours ago, but the extra strain had made it extremely difficult to get any sort of momentum. But focusing all of his strength, he pushed through, a deep and almost guttural growl seeping through his lips as he yanked and pulled against the ropes using all the strength he could muster.

_"Alice could be in trouble! The others are probably worried about us!" _He thought, fueling his strength with the determination he felt with the desire to find the young lady and return to his friends. _"And hell I _am _in trouble. If I don't get out of here then…!"_

"Not gonna happen!"

Letting out a final cry of frustration, Hassleberry could hear the wall lamp beginning to loosen from the power and force of his pulls against the ropes tied to it. If he could just keep it up a little bit longer!

"A-Almost...there...!" He told himself through gritted teeth as he continued to struggle, making every effort he could to finally get himself freed. Pulling once more against the bindings, Hassleberry forced his body forwards, the screeching of metal as the iron lamp was pulled out of its place on the wall piercing through the otherwise silent building. Quickly moving out of the way, he dodged the heavy iron before it fell on top of his body and inflicted legitimate injury upon the young man.

"Hell yeah!" he shouted joyfully, his eyes lighting up as he smiled, kneeling down and placing his hands over one of the twisted and sharp pieces of metal, rubbing the ropes binding his wrists against them until they were weakened enough for him to pull off. Rising back to his feet, Hassleberry could still feel the dark force pushing against him, pulling him down like a stronger force of gravity had somehow been made possible here. But with his full mobility restored, it didn't feel quite as strong as it had been before.

"Free at last!" quickly stretching out his arms for a minute, Hassleberry hurried out of the room, keeping his eyes out for any sign of Alice or an easily accessible exit. The rest of the building seemed to be just as dark and creepy as the rest of it from what little he had even seen of it. The entire hallway was dark, not a light at all, save for the sunlight streaming in from the tiny cracks in the heavy curtains over the windows, giving him enough light to see where he was going. It was strange how dark it was even in the daylight, it was almost an unnatural kind of darkness hanging over the entire space around him. Cautiously moving forwards, Hassleberry could almost hear his animal instincts screaming from inside of him, urging him to get away, warning him that something just wasn't right there. Everything about the situation was eerie to him, after all, he had been attacked, knocked unconscious, and tied up and stashed away inside of the abandoned dorm where no one was supposed to be because it was 'forbidden', and people could get expelled if they were caught snooping around. But still, he couldn't help but wander the grounds. It was almost as if an unseen force had been guiding him, urging him to continue deeper inside.

"Alice...?" He called out into the empty halls, hoping desperately for a reply. "Are you here? Where are you?" his voice echoed through the building, fading until his was greeted once more only by silence. It was disheartening to say the least, and alarming to say the most. The thoughts kept racing through his mind as he continued on; _Where is she? Is she alright? What if she was hurt? How am I going to find her?_

Frustration and worry continued to build inside of him, manifesting into a deep fear for her safety. Taking another step, he found himself faced with a closed door at the end of the hall, no where else to go but back the way he came, he rushed to it. Grasping the handle tightly in his hand, twisting and pulling with all his might, but even so the door wouldn't budge. Frustrated and bordering angry, Hassleberry stopped. Slamming his free fist against the wooden door, he pressed his cheek against it for a moment, leaning against it in a vain hope that putting more of his weight on it would allow him it simply break it down. But once again, his efforts proved fruitless.

"Dammit Alice, please answer me!"

"My, my. Looks like someone escaped."

"Alice?" Hassleberry gasped, turning to the familiar voice behind him, his eyes landed on the silhouette of the young lady slowly approaching from down the hall. Relieved to see her unharmed, though his relief quickly shifted to a wary caution, sensing the darker tone in her voice than he was accustomed to hearing. Once more, the screams of his animal instincts only grew louder and more insistent as she approached. Something was seriously wrong here...

"Are you alright...?" He asked warily, raising his internal guard as he kept his eyes trained on her. It had to be her, there was no question about that, but even so, there was something off about her…and it was more than a little unsettling, even for him.

"Oh my." She observed, a small and innocently creepy sounding giggle trailing behind her words, she continued her ever leisurely approach, her form still primarily shrouded in darkness. "Such a sweet little boy, worrying about me when he should really be worrying about _himself._"

"What are you talkin' about...?" Hassleberry questioned, raising an eyebrow as he turned fully to face her, his bad feelings only increasing with each step she took. His instincts didn't want her to come anywhere near him, but considering there was basically nowhere else to go unless he tried to break the locked door down, there really wasn't any way to stop her.

"What a cute, innocent boy you are, Hassleberry." She giggled, her tone darkening as she took one final step forward before stopping just shy of the edge of the darkest shadows, her face still shrouded by the black veil. "A shame isn't it, that the innocent are always the first to fall?"

"The hell does that mean?" He asked, beginning to become even more confused than he already had been from the moment she appeared. She wasn't making any sense at all, none of this was.

"You should've stayed put, Hassleberry." Alice warned, an almost ethereal whisper shadowing her words, almost as if there were two voices speaking at once. He'd never heard anything like it before in his life. There was no way this could be his Alice! She was sweet and kind, she'd never act like this! So why was this happening...? "I didn't want it to come to this so soon, but it looks like you've forced my hand." extending her right arm towards the young man, everything seemed to stop around him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was almost like everything had began moving in slow motion even though it was all very much real time. The thick veil of shadows seemingly danced around her, forming into long, almost pulsating tendril like things. His eyes widening exponentially at the sight, before Hassleberry could even think to move, they shot forwards, wrapping around his arms and legs, holding him in place so that even if he wanted to -which he most certainly did- he would be completely unable to run, or even hardly move at all.

"W-What are you doing!?" He shouted, his voice trembling, letting his fear seep through as he tried in vain to break free. But the shadows would not yield for even a moment, their grip on his limbs weighed down on him like they were made of pure cement. There was nothing he could do to fight them off. "Snap out of it, Alice! Who did this to you!?"

"Naive child." She frowned, stepping out just enough for her face to be lit by the small amount of light that still remained within the corridor. Looking at her face, Hassleberry gasped in shock. Her eyes were icy and almost hollow, as if the sparkle and vibrancy of her beautiful sapphire orbs had never existed at all. The smile ever plastered to her beautiful face had been replaced by a deep and almost natural looking frown, all in all, it was as if he was looking at a completely different person. "Blinded to the truth it seems."

"What truth?" He shouted, continuing his vain attempts at struggling in the grip if the darkness. "What are you sayin'!?"

"The only ones here, are you and I. Which means the one who attacked you in the forest," Alice began to explain, walking ever closer to the boy, stopping only when she was merely feet away from him, close enough for her to touch him if she were to want to "was me."

"W-Wha-" Hassleberry gasped, hardly able to believe it, though considering where and how he stood now, it was a little more convincing upon further deliberation of the facts.

"Oh you poor thing." Alice lamented, tilting her head slightly more to the left than she should've physically been able to with an extremely fake sounding sympathy coating her voice as she spoke. "You really did trust me, didn't you?" She giggled, practically snapping her head back upwards, her deep frown almost instantaneously returning to her face as quickly as her mood had been shifting thus far. "Although I can't say I'm surprised. A rare soul, pure like yours, it only makes sense."

"What are you-"

"-SILENCE!" She shouted, interrupting his intended question. Raising her arm swiftly forwards again, another shadowy tendril manifested, and as quickly as she raised her arm, it shot at the dino duelist, wrapping itself over his mouth and effectively silencing the teen for her. "I told you before, you really should have stayed put." She frowned. "Like I said, I didn't want it to come to this so soon, but don't worry. I promise, this time, you won't be escaping."

Her diabolical laughter pierced through the air around them, echoing all throughout the vacant corridor. Hassleberry tried crying out in a vain hope that someone would hear, and come to his aid, but no matter how he tried almost no sound escaped his lips. Nearly completely absorbed by the shadows covering his mouth, his cries went unheard, his struggles proving useless too. No one was around, no one could help him now. Her laughter haunted his mind, echoing inside long after she had stopped. Regaining her composure, she communed with the shadows, the ethereal black tendrils dragging him along, following her as she walked deeper inside, descending lower into the depths of the dorm. Struggling with all his might, Hassleberry knew even then that it was pointless. The darkness held on like the strongest steel chains, and it wasn't going to let go. Not until Alice willed it to. And he thought that judging by what she had been saying before...it seemed plausible that she wasn't going to be willing it any time soon…


	4. Chapter 4

_**-Chapter 4-**_

Hassleberry never stopped struggling for even a moment. Secured in the grip of the shadows he could barely move an inch, and on top of that he couldn't speak with one of the dark misty tendrils wrapped around his mouth, but still he refused to give up his fight. Alice kept her back to him, completely silent as she took him deeper into the depths of the abandoned dorm. The basement of the building was even creepier than the upstairs was, and that was saying something. The walls here hardly walls at all, more like stone and dirt from the ground beneath the ground floor packed firmly between the borders of the support beams holding the building together. It was even darker than the upstairs too, nearly pitch black if not for the slight blue glow emanating from the outline of the shadowy formations binding him, their own forms emanating from Alice's own shadow. If he had any say in it he was going to break free and she would explain herself for what was going on here! He didn't want to believe she could be malevolent in nature, she seemed so kind and wonderful before. Though it was becoming increasingly clear to him now that it had all been just an act. The whole time she had been playing him for a fool, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. If only he had listened to Syrus when he said there was something off about her…

"_Who am I kidding? It's my own fault I'm in this mess." _He thought, closing his eyes for a brief moment, his body relaxing for only seconds before he continued his struggle. He couldn't let her get to him like that! It was exactly what she wanted!

"It's pointless for you to fight it." Alice said. The first words she had spoken since they had begun their descent into the lowest levels of this forsaken place. The break in the silence was comforting to him, although the sound of her voice now was anything but. "Even _your _vast strength is useless against my power." She chuckled, more than a little confident that she was incapable of failing in her goals. "You're _mine_."

Hassleberry muttered a curse at her as best he could through the darkness covering his mouth, blocking nearly all of his sound from coming through to anyone other than himself. Narrowing his eyes as she laughed, already enjoying his torment though it hadn't even truly begun. Were it easy to extract a person's soul she would've done it already, but it wasn't a simple task. Especially with a soul as pure and innocent as his, and the added strength of his dinosaur side would make it even more difficult for her. But Alice wasn't about to give up her chance at freedom. If she had to destroy his spirit and break his body to get to his precious soul, then so be it, she was prepared to do whatever she needed to. Silence greeting the two once more she took him down as far as they could go, entering a large circular room. Looking around Hassleberry recognized where they were, having heard enough stories from Jaden and the others to know what this ceremonial looking duel site looked like even though he'd never set foot there himself. The room was in two levels, a deeper circle serving as an arena of sorts in the center, sinking a few feet deeper into the ground than the floor surrounding it. Stone spires lined the rear end if the room, and somehow it was brighter here than the basement corridors had been, despite the similar lack of light sources. Alice continued forward into the chamber, the shadows followed suit, continuing to drag Hassleberry behind her until she stopped in the center of the arena circle, turning back to face the young man, the emptiness in her eyes accentuating the intimidating nature of even her own small and petite stature as he could only look down at her.

"Welcome, child." Alice chuckled, smiling triumphantly as she eyed her prey closely. "This place is where I will make your soul my own."

Struggling in the hold of the shadows Hassleberry's eyes narrowed, shouting in protest to her claim though his objections went unheard, reduced to only muffled static through the sheer density of the dark mist surrounding him.

"I'm sorry. It seems I can't quite hear you." She teased, making light of the subject if only to cause him more distress in the long run. Snapping her fingers on her right hand the mist covering Hassleberry's mouth dissipated, returning the use of his voice to him once again, smirking as she inquired. "Would you mind repeating that?"

"I said, what the hell's goin' on with you!?" Hassleberry interrogated, more than happy to have his mouth actually be useful again now that the darkness was gone, but also growing increasingly frustrated and impatient with the girl, still not having any real answers as to what was going on and why she was acting this way. Clearly she was no ordinary person, that much he'd obviously figured out by now considering his present situation and the obvious usage of magic happening around him, but still she hadn't given him any clear cut answers. "Why are you doin' this!? And what do you mean, 'make my soul your own'!? The hell does that mean!?"

"Are you really so blind that you haven't figured it out on your own?" Alice huffed, crossing her arms in frustration as she sighed in contempt though she figured that was how he was going to react. He was after all, an idiot. That much about him she learned fairly quickly. "You humans never cease to amaze me with how blissfully ignorant you can be."

"Humans..?" Hassleberry inquired, raising an eyebrow at the girl in a quick yet lingering moment of confusion. "I'm guessing that means you ain't one of us?"

"What tipped you off?" She replied, unimpressed with his deduction, especially considering the predicament he had been in for at least fifteen minutes now, ensnared by the dark mist she herself had summoned from her shadow. "But no. Of course I'm not, that much should be obvious to you by now. Or do your eyes literally not function?"

"Oh my eyes work just fine, little missy." He replied, a slight hint of sass coming through his delightful southern drawl, his voice like butter on toast even in such a strenuous time. "Don't you worry about that. Now why don't you tell me what exactly you are, then? Where you're from?"

"You want to know where I'm from..?" Alice asked slowly, her eyes looking even more vacant and dead then they had been before. She tilted her head to the right a good five degrees lower than any human should physically be able to, a malicious giggle escaping her perfectly pink colored porcelain lips as she slowly stepped closer to the ensnared teen. Every fiber in his being screamed at him to get away, begging him not to let her any nearer, but even if he tried he would get nowhere fast. Stopping only when she was close to him as she could get, lowering him down closer to her level, she rested her chin on his shoulder so her lips were only centimeters from his ear. A smile crawling it's way across her face as she whispered to creepily into his ear. "Hell."

Before he could even begin to think a sharp gasp escaped his lips, eyes widening in a pure state of fear. Of all the places he wasn't expecting to hear her name, that was most assuredly at the very tip top of the list. But also it shed light on a subject he had desperately wanted an answer to. Just _what_ exactly Alice was.

"H-Hell..?" He asked, the fear more than audible in his hushed tone. "T-Then that means you've gotta be-"

"-A demon." Alice interrupted, gladly finishing his sentence for him before erupting in an almost triumphant laughter, turning her back to her young prisoner clearly enjoying herself more than she ought to. "I see you've finally caught on. Yes, I'm a demon." She frowned, the glee disappearing completely from her voice as she continued. "And many years ago I was sealed into this..._prison _of a physical body. A doll, with the purpose of containing my power."

"And what does any of that have to do with me?"

"Dear child, it has _everything _to do with you!" She practically shouted, the frustration now overwhelming in her tone, her eyes narrowing in an unbridled fury. "To break free of this cursed form I require a soul. A _pure _human soul, devoid of all darkness and malevolence." She explained, the words snapping quickly and venomously from her lips, "Only with the sacrifice of such a soul can I be freed! And my power restored so that I may take my revenge against you humans who put me here!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Hassleberry cried, shaking his head as he tried to grasp what she had just relayed to him. "_Sacrifice_!?"

"That's right." She nodded, turning away from him once more, her eyes downcast towards the stone ground, longing for her powers granted from hell's ever burning flames. "The pitiful humans thought a soul so pure was impossible. That I would be imprisoned for eternity" she chuckled, her shoulders rising and falling as the air escaped her "Imagine my surprise when you came along, my dear, _precious _Sargent. The very light I thought could never awaken, rested within _you_."

"So what I'm gettin' from this is that you're not gonna let me go any time soon." Hassleberry observed, trying to lighten the mood if only for his own emotional benefit, and considering he had been abducted by a demon straight from the gates of hell, yeah some mood lightening was warranted. Though he would prefer if Jaden and the others were here to do that for him. Besides, while they were doing that perhaps they could also figure out a way to rescue him too, because that would certainly be a plus at this point all things considered.

"Silence, child!" Alice demanded, not at all amused by his attempt at levity in the face of certain doom. "There will be no escape for you! And I assure you as I rip the soul from your body I'll make sure you feel _every single moment _and the end of such an unstained life will be the most beautiful sight I will ever see."

"_Okay, Sarge...could really use your help right now…" _he gulped, not even trying to hide his fear now. Besides even if he tried he was sure that somehow she would be able to sense it. She was a demon after all, she could probably smell fear! Of course he basically could too what with his Dino DNA and animal instincts and the like, but her situation was a hundred percent different. At least he was actually a human being.

"But of course before that happens," She began, motioning downwards with her right hand, the shadowy tendrils forcing him down to his knees, holding him down like cement, arms remaining outstretched and suspended by the mist as she smirked sadistically "your soul needs to let go of that...increasingly resilient body of yours." she laughed openly this time. Hassleberry already had a feeling that things were only going downhill for him, but now he was completely convinced. "And unfortunately for you, my little soldier boy. There will be no duel for you to try and save yourself."

"W-What does that mean..?" Hassleberry asked, fearing the answer she would give, but at the same time he needed to know more than anything what it was that she was going to say. And on top of that, what she was going to _do_.

"Well, let's just say.." Alice began, extending her right arm to the side, her hand opening for a dark light to manifest into it, closing her fist around the misty entity it formed into a solid shape. A whip. "I prefer to do things the old fashioned way" taking long and elegant strides across the floor she made her way around the boy, chuckling openly to herself as she did so, the fear and anticipation growing inside of him as she made her approach. This was going to be anything but good for him. "You see, in my time there was no Duel Monsters to settle everything. If we wanted something," raising the dark whip she narrowed her eyes, though she smiled as widely as she could. If he could see her now her face would've struck a terror through him like he had never felt before "we would take it by force!" without even the mercy of a moment's hesitation she struck his back. A blood curdling scream tearing from his lips, the shimmering leather strip already beginning to rip through the fabric of his jacket, making its way to the skin of his back. The pain was the most surreal thing he had ever felt since his leg had been broken in the landslide several years before. He had never been tortured before -he assumed that's what her aim was- and quite frankly he was terrified of what was in store for him now that he was aware that he was in the clutches of a bloodthirsty demon hell bent on getting her freaky porcelain hands on his soul. Her piercing laughter shattered every iota of peace he had left inside as she brought the whip down again, mercilessly striking his back with the full force of what she was able to muster. The pain was blinding, tearing into his body as the screams of agony were torn straight from his throat. Hassleberry hoped that with the sheer volume of his screams and cries, maybe somehow he would be heard, and someone would come to his aid. But sensing his vain hope, Alice smiled once more.

"No one's coming to save you, _child_." She said, whipping him further as the laughter continued to escape from her lips, reveling in the screams of her victim. Blood had begun seeping through the cuts the leather was carving into his back, ripping straight through the fabric of his clothes, reducing the back of both his jacket and tank top to mere tatters clinging to his bloody and broken flesh. Quietly snapping with her free hand, the shadows binding him split just slightly, the newly separated mist circling around him for a moment before swiftly closing in, wrapping themselves around his mouth, effectively silencing him just has they had done previously. "Even I can barely hear your screams now. Your soul _will _be mine!"

"_Why is this happening to me..!?" _Hassleberry thought, his eyes screwed shut, tears of pain dripping down his face like the blood down his back. His screams still tore from his throat though the sound was nearly nonexistent to even him now, the shadows absorbing every modicum of sound that dared try to escape his lips "_H-How am I gonna get out of this? Is it even possible..?" _He could feel the blood dripping down from the open wounds on his back as Alice wailed with glee and a rush of fulfilment while her eyes beheld the crimson waterfall cascading down the boy's tanned skin. Dropping the whip onto the floor she smiled, proud of what she had done to him. Though she was more than happy that it wouldn't be enough to detach his soul from his body. Striding back before him, the girl revealed in the sight of the small pools of blood forming around him and the tears falling from his eyes. The boy really did look weak and helpless, and she had barely even begun to play. It had been decades now since she had toyed with a human, and she was planning to enjoy every single moment of it. Even if she had to kill him, and capture his soul as it left his body then she was prepared to do so. But it would be much more fun to tear it straight from his living flesh, and watch as the life drained from his eyes while his body laid broken and bloody. It would be a glorious day indeed, when in exchange for an innocent life, her demonic spirit could be restored. But until then, well she would just have to settle for having her fun with her prisoner.

"Still no word on Hassleberry?"

"No. Nothing.."

Jaden sighed as he thought about their dear lost friend. He had been unaccounted for all day, and with the rumors floating around the campus about his supposed disappearance, it was growing harder and harder to believe that everything was fine. It hurt his heart to think that something may have seriously happened to the young dino duelist. To take someone of such immense strength and power, whomever was behind this couldn't be any ordinary person. The J-Squad had been investigating their friend's disappearance since they heard the first rumor, but unfortunately, nothing was coming of it. Not a trace of him anywhere, like he had just vanished into thin air.

"There's no way he could've just vanished." Atticus observed, not at all convinced there was no foul play involved. "Trust me, I'd know that better than anyone."

"Indeed." Bastion nodded, thinking over the possible scenarios in his head while he also tried to think of more places to search for him that would make sense. "I don't see how this could have happened without some sort of foul play. Especially to Hassleberry of all people. It seems most probable that the Society has something to do with this. It wouldn't surprise me if Sartorius had him taken to try and get to Jaden." turning his eye to the brunette in question, he sighed, recounting to himself the events that had taken place in Domino, with Syrus and Hassleberry's kidnapping. "He's done it before, after all."  
"Yeah, but that was his sister's plan." Syrus corrected, having his own fair share of knowledge on the subject. "And besides, that time they took me, too…"

"That's true…" Jaden sighed again, shaking his head at the memory as it resurfaced in his mind. It was always hard reliving memories of his friends in peril, but now one of those friends was gone again, and this time with no trace of his whereabouts, and no clues at all as to what could've happened or what to do about it. "But it wouldn't surprise me if he had something to do with this. He knows how important you guys are to me." A small, angered growl escaped his lips as he thought about that madman getting his grubby hands on any more of his friends. It was bad enough he had Chazz and Alexis brainwashed and trapped inside his demented grasp, but if he had taken Hassleberry too...taken him _again_. That was crossing lines he had already crossed about ten times over by that point, which was certainly saying something. "We've gotta find him _now _before something really bad happens to him!"

"We know, Jaden." Bastion sighed, taking a step closer and placing a comforting hand on their leader's shoulder, a softened gaze gracing his face as he tried to be of comfort to the distressed Slifer. "I promise, we'll figure this out together. We'll find him, and it'll be alright, you needn't worry so much."

"Bastion, of course I do." Jaden replied, a frustrated grunt preficing his rebuttal. "Look Bastion, if Sartorius took him then he did it to get to me. And if he gets hurt, then that's on me too. Don't you get it, Bastion? Everything bad that happens to you guys...all of it is my fault!"

"That's not true!" Syrus objected, his childish voice cutting through the air as he narrowed his extra large eyes at his best friend, upset that he was taking everything so hard and so personally. "You didn't _make _this happen. You don't make _anything _bad happen! None of this is your fault, Jaden."

"After all the times you've been put in danger because someone wanted to get to me, I'm not so sure about that, Sy.." Jaden deflated, shaking his head as he tried to shake off the unhappy thoughts, though it was to no avail. "I'm just worried about him, that's all..Not just anyone could take down Hassleberry. You should know..you're one of the only people I know tough enough to beat him."

"In a duel, maybe." Syrus chuckled, remembering the day he defeated the young Ra, cementing his spot as Jaden's number one best friend. Of course, Jaden hadn't been there at the time, but they didn't hesitate to tell him about it as soon as they could. The only downside looking back on that memory was that Alexis had still been herself then. Before she too had been lost to the Society.. "No one is tougher than him, Jaden. He's gonna be okay."

"Right." Atticus agreed, nodding in response to the bluenette's statement. "I say we try talking to Sartorius. If we can figure out who took him, we'll be that much closer to finding him."

"I agree." Bastion nodded, crossing his arms while he thought through their suggested course of action. "Though I don't expect us being able to speak with him directly. The man is doubtless too busy brainwashing more students to serve him."

"What about Alice?" Syrus asked, thinking back to the young girl, not trusting her any more now than he did from the beginning. Which was certainly not a surprise. "It seemed a little too convenient how she just showed up when we started looking into the rumors. We hadn't seen her at all until then."

"I don't know...I don't think she could've done something like this on her own.." Atticus observed, though he too trusted her about as far as he could throw her, but from what he could tell, the likelihood that she could be capable of kidnapping Hassleberry without leaving a single trace was slim at best.

"I agree with Atticus." Jaden said, trying to think things through for once in his life. "I think we should try the Society first. It seems the most likely answer right now." he sighed, loath to actually be considering talking to Sartorius, assuming they actually got the chance. But if it would help them find Hassleberry, he was willing to take the risk.

"And, if nothing comes of it?" Bastion inquired, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the brunette, wondering what his contingency plan would be if he even had one at all.

"If we don't get anything out of the Society, then we'll focus on Alice." Jaden responded, shooting a quick glance towards Syrus, more than a little aware of how the little one felt about her. And Jaden couldn't deny that he had some reservations about her himself, but still, he wanted to believe that she really was innocent. "Don't think I don't feel weird about her too, but I don't wanna just go interrogate her if she doesn't have anything to do with this"

"Good idea."Atticus nodded, glad that Jaden seemed to be actually thinking things through for once. It wasn't _completely _unlike him to do, but it certainly wasn't entirely likely either. There had been more than a few examples of that over his time at the Academy, so basically anyone could attest to that. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

"Right." Jaden nodded, a fire burning in his eyes they hadn't seen in a long time. He was like an angry papa bear protecting his cubs. One of his best friends had been taken from him again. And he'd be damned if he didn't find who was responsible and make them pay.

"_Don't worry, Hassleberry." _he thought, more determined now than worried. Now they had a plan, a system of sorts to help them get to him faster. So far, things were only looking up for them. "_We're gonna find you. And we're gonna bring you home. Just hang in there a little longer, buddy…we're on our way."_


	5. Chapter 5

_**-Chapter 5-**_

The squad walked in a sort of formation down to what remained of the Obelisk Blue dorm. Although, now it had become the Society's playground. Painted completely white it was almost blinding in the sunlight, shining relentlessly down on the illustrious structure. It was still a short ways off, but it could practically be seen for miles with how brightly it glistened. Sartorius had to be inside. And with him, they hoped they would find information on their missing friend. Or even better, finding Hassleberry himself. Jaden was convinced that if they really had taken him, Hassleberry would be too strong for Sartorius to take control of him. He was the strongest person Jaden had ever known, and it would take more than a few little mind games to take him down.

"He better have some answers." Jaden mumbled, angered by their present situation. Sure they thought about talking to Crowler and Bonaparte about this, but they were certainly..._less _than helpful, more so than usual now that they were pretty much only concerned with furthering their careers and making themselves look good and the other look bad. Going to them at this point was going to have to be a last resort. Or at least could wait until they had more information about just what the hell was going on.

"We won't know until we talk." Atticus said, eyes steely and focused as he looked upon the shining structure in the ever shrinking distance. The place where his little sister was living, brainwashed and playing servant to a crazed madman intent on expanding his little cult until there was nothing left of the remaining students who hadn't completely lost their minds. "And if we don't get anything out of him or his cronies, then we go talk to Alice. If the Society's not behind this the she _has _to know something if not being the cause of it herself."

"Well even so, I've been doing some research on her, and I have yet to find anything. No family history, no public records, nothing." Bastion informed, thinking back on his previous investigation. "It seems to me she must be hiding something."

"We'll worry about that when we're done here." Jaden ordered, hellbent on going through with their current course of action. He didn't trust her any more or less than the others did but he stood by what he said before. He wouldn't feel right interrogating her if she didn't have anything to do with it. "We have to be smart about this."

"Uh, guys..?" Syrus spoke up, turning his gaze towards his three companions for a moment as he raised his arm in a pointing gesture in the direction of the now white dorm. "Something tells me we aren't gonna be talking to Sartorius any time soon." catching the others' attention with his gesture, the three boys looked to see what had Syrus in a slight tizzy. It only took a moment for them to register just what exactly the problem was. Outside of the dorm, hardly paying attention at all as the quartet approached, Chazz and Alexis stood together, looking to be engaged in a sort of conversation. Atticus's heart leapt into his throat as he looked upon the two younger students. His little sister, and dear close friend had been ignoring him for so long, he hadn't even been able to get anywhere near them with the other Society cronies lurking around and standing in the way. It broke his heart to see them in such a state, and he didn't doubt the others felt the same. In fact, Jaden had made it quite clear on more than one occasion that it was so.

"Oh wonderful…" Bastion sighed, not thrilled upon realizing the two would most likely be a major hindrance to their plan. But seeing as they knew full well their two brainwashed friends would never let them inside the dorm, they would most likely have to shift their plans ever so slightly.

"Well, we're not turning back now." Jaden said, determined to press on, though the sight of his precious friends hurt him just as it did the others. Taking a deep breath he lead the others along, vowing silently to himself that he would save them too, whatever it took.

"Well, well, look who it is."

Chazz's voice cut through their hearts like a heated knife, striking them deep within their very cores. It hadn't been too long since they'd seen him of course, but that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was that even though they had seen him, what they _hadn't _seen was _him._ He hadn't been himself in months. It was hard to believe he was even the same person by now, having been under Sartorius' control for so long.

"What are _you _dorks doing here?"

Alexis' empty, icy tone probably hurt them the most. Her gentle and calm demeanor replaced with a cold and unforgiving tone, as if her heart itself had frozen over. Looking at them their eyes looked like they were beginning to glaze over, like Sartorius' hold on them was growing stronger. It killed them knowing there was nothing they could do about it now.

"Sis…" Atticus' heart was broken, that much was clear. Without even thinking his hand slowly raised, instinctively going to reach out to his little sister. She had lost him before, he never imagined that he would ever have to lose her too..

"We came to speak with Sartorius." Bastion informed, crossing his arms as he gazed at the two before them, the serious tone in his voice rivaling the cold indifference in both of theirs. "There's a rather pressing matter we wish to discuss."

"No one sees Master Sartorius." Chazz countered, narrowing his eyes at the British know it all standing before him, placing his left hand on his hip as he shifted his weight over to his left side. "Especially not you dorks."

"Is that all you two can say now?" Syrus questioned, annoyed that all they did now was insult them. Not that he had a very good relationship with Chazz normally anyway, but it was worse now, especially with Alexis jumping on the rudeness bandwagon.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, little boy." Alexis threatened, narrowing her own eyes at the smallest among them. It wasn't like her at all to threaten someone, least of all Syrus. She was like the mother hen of their group before all of this happened to them. It was more than a little awful seeing her behave this way now.

"Alright, that's enough." Jaden asserted, stepping between his friends. To say he was serious was an understatement. There was a fire burning in his eyes that they hadn't seen in a long time. Not since the whole hooplah with the Shadow Riders last year. "Hassleberry's missing, we wanted to know if your little "Society of Light" had anything to do with it."

"We don't know what you're talking about." Alexis dismissed, waving them off expecting them to go away and leave her and Chazz to their own devices again, free to do Sartorius' bidding like they were meant to.

"Now that we know he's immune to the light, Master Sartorius doesn't have any further business with that neanderthal of yours." Chazz added. "He's useless to us now."

"Lexi…" Atticus whispered, his heart slowly shattering as his eyes remained locked on his precious younger sister. She was his whole world, the only reason he believed he was able to make through his recovery after Jaden freed him from the darknesses grip. He loved her more than anything. She used to look up at him and he would see a spark of life, passion, and an everlasting love her family, friends, and the game she loved so much. But now when he looked at her, all he could see was anger, and an empty void where the life in her eyes once dwelled.

"Is that all you're going to do, you sniveling loser?" Alexis interrogated, glaring at him like she didn't even recognize him anymore. A collective gasp escaped from the four, hardly able to believe she would say such a thing to _Atticus_ of all people.

"Alright, I mean it, that's _enough_!" Jaden declared, clenching his firsts and taking a step forwards towards the girl, ready to defend his friend's honor should he need to. "We didn't come here for you two to waste our time! We know the Society is behind this, now tell us what you've done with Hassleberry!"

"Jaden..I think you should calm down.." Syrus cautioned, slowly reaching out to his closest friend, worried that his temper was starting to get a little out of control. It wasn't like him to get so angry like this...if anything, it was a little scary to witness so closely.

"The shrimp is right." Chazz retorted, crossing his arms in response to Jaden's outburst. "And we already told you, the Society's got nothing to do with your friend's disappearance."

"That's right." Alexis nodded in agreement, shifting her weight to her right leg while her dead eyes shot glares at the four boys in front of her. "Besides, if we did, everyone would know."

"She's right, Jaden." Bastion advised, thinking back on everything the Society had done. They were no strangers to making a spectacle of their actions. After all, they were brainwashing the entire student body, painted the entire Obelisk Blue dorm white, Sartorius had practically rendered Crowler and Bonaparte irrelevant, and they certainly couldn't forget the spectacle they made out of kidnapping Syrus and Hassleberry back in Domino. Surely if they kidnapped Hassleberry again they wouldn't keep quiet about it. "Besides, I believe we've overstayed our welcome here."

"That's the smartest thing any of you have said this whole time." Alexis huffed, turning her eyes away from them, almost like she was disgusted by the idea of looking at them any longer. "Now go on and get out of here. Before we have to _make_ you."

"You wouldn't dare." Jaden challenged, his eyes shooting daggers at his friends, though his frustration was starting to ignore that fact in his mind.

"Come on, let's go, Jay.." Syrus advised, gently and cautiously grabbing Jaden's arm, tugging lightly on his jacket, pulling him back towards the rest of them in a gesture to urge him to follow while they retreated back from whence they came. Atticus looked back at his sister, her eyes were almost dead now. Her's and Chazz's both. They both meant so much to him, it destroyed him inside seeing them like that. Alexis even treated him like she didn't even know him, like he was a total stranger to her. She was his entire world, and she didn't want anything to do with him anymore. It was like the entire world was shattering around him, broken pieces of reality's glass crashing down at his feet.

"_I understand now, Lexi…" _he thought, wanting nothing more than to have his little sister back… "_How you felt when I was gone...how lonely and sad you must have been...I'm so sorry...I'll save you, Lexi. I promise you that."_

The four friends walked for a few moments in silence, Jaden's occasional agitated growls creating more tension than could be broken by the natural ambiance around them. Their attempt at interrogation had been useless, all in all a waste of time. Time that Hassleberry probably didn't have, and they were no closer to finding him then they had been before they even knew he was taken in the first place. It was more than a little infuriating, and certainly they could all feel the anger that Jaden was trying to contain. As they walked a short distance more the white dorm was finally starting to fade from their rearview, but out of the blue, a familiar shape took form.

"So, I heard Hassleberry's gone missing." Aster's ever dismissive and sarcastic tone floated through the air around them. Standing with his back leaned against one of the trees lining the path he crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at the group of somber and dejected teens passing by. "Can't say I'm surprised. What with all the "weird stuff" going on around here."

"You know, Aster, this really isn't a good time." Syrus said, shooting a disapproving glance at their self involved acquaintance. They could hardly call him their friend as far as Syrus was concerned. The guy was a pompous jerk who was only out for himself. Even when he helped Jaden take down Serena he only did it because he could potentially get something out of it and prove that he was better than Jaden. And that didn't exactly scream friendship goals in Sy's mind. "Besides, it's none of your business."

"Seems to me like it is." Aster retorted, raising an eyebrow at the smallest boy. "All things considered. Especially considering how you guys got completely shut down by those brainwashed friends of yours."

"Yeah. Brainwashed by _your _manager!" Jaden countered, a quiet angry snarl escaping his lips while his eyes narrowed sharply at the resident pro duelist.

"_Former_, manager." Aster corrected, waving off Jaden's outburst. "He and I don't really talk much anymore."

"Well then what are you doing here? I mean it's not like you've got any business with the Society. Right?" Atticus questioned, honestly hoping the answer was yes. They had enough to deal with already without Aster poking the proverbial hornet's nest, especially with Hassleberry gone and unable to lend a hand.

"Why do you think? To steer you kids in the right direction." Aster chuckled in response, a knowing smile crawling across his face as he looked the others over. "Sartorius and I may not be on speaking terms anymore, but believe me when I tell you guys he's got nothing to do with your friend's disappearance." turning his gaze in the direction of the Slifer dorm he frowned, a more serious tone coming over his voice as he kept his eyes turned away from the ever dwindling J-Squad. "If you ask me, you should really be talking to that girl. What was her name again? Alice?"

"How do you know about her?" Bastion inquired, curious as to how someone as disinterested in anything not directly involving him knew so much about all the current events around the island. Although he did realize after asking that it wasn't exactly that hard to figure things out around here. After all with a student body as chatty as theirs word typically traveled fairly quickly around the island.

"Don't think I haven't been paying attention to what's been happening around here." Aster replied, turning his frown onto Bastion. "I've seen her around, and I can't say she doesn't seem more than a little out of the ordinary, even for this place." A small chuckle trailed his sentence, enjoying his little subtle quip. "So if I were you, I'd go talk to her instead of wasting your time with the Society."

"I've been saying that from the start!" Syrus whined, not particularly happy with his suggestions or concerns being disregarded all the time. True he was a bit of a drama queen sometimes and overreacted on occasion, but more often than not when he voiced a concern about something potentially bad happening, nine times out of ten he was right.

"Well then it looks like you're the smart one, Syrus." Aster answered, taking a step away from the tree he was leaning on and turned his back to the crew, placing his left hand into his pants pocket. "Good luck finding your friend. By the looks of you, I'd say you need it." He chuckled again, still not particularly fond of Jaden and his friends. Slowly walking down the path he kept his gaze front, raising his right arm in a sort of stationary wave. "Later."

"Lucky for us we were already planning on talking to her." Atticus said, trying to add some levity to the stagnant air around them. There wasn't much room for levity anymore, so any small amount at all was almost a luxury for the teens.

"Where would she even be?" Syrus asked, thinking about how little he'd actually seen her since the first day she'd arrived. After that he'd really only see her on occasion when she would just kinda show up somewhere, which of course wasn't helping his skepticism on the subject of her innocence in the matter. Something the others certainly would've had to have realized themselves by now.

"We'll find her." Jaden asserted, significantly calmed down now that they had time to regroup and think. Also Aster's confirmation that the Society wasn't involved was extremely helpful to him. Narrowing down the list of suspects considerably, all the way down to one. Alice. "We'll track her down and make her talk. She's the only other one around here who could have anything to do with this." quickly sighing in frustration, Jaden shook his head, angry with himself for ignoring all of the clear cut signs thus far. "No. Not even that. She's the _only_ one. _Period._ I should've listened to you from the start, Sy.."

"It's alright, Jay." Syrus forgave, a bright and forgiving smile. He really was discouraged that Jaden never did seem to listen to him when he had a concern, but still he knew Jaden's heart was in the right place. He wanted to believe that Alice was innocent, after all she had been so kind to them thus far, and if there was one thing Jaden was good at it was trying to see the best in people. "Let's just find Hassleberry."

"Right." Jaden nodded, placing a hand on his best friend's tiny shoulder. "We'll bring him home. I promise."

"Yes indeed." Bastion agreed "But first we need to find Alice. But of course, she'll deny the allegations against her."

"Why are we just standing around talking?" Atticus inquired, quickly glancing around his three counterparts. "The longer we stand around the more danger Hassleberry could be in."

"You're right." Jaden nodded, realizing just how much time they had been wasting, increasingly more worried about his dear young friend. "Come on, let's go." leading the way down the path again they headed to the Slifer dorm. At this point Jaden didn't really even want to confront Alice. Not so much because he wanted to believe in her innocence anymore, but more so he didn't want her to know they were on to her. If she did, that could put Hassleberry in greater danger, and considering he was still missing, he had to be endangered enough to keep him detained and unable to escape. There were so few places they'd left to search, knowing he had most certainly been taken it made any location make sense. But still they had wasted enough time already to spend more lurking around searching every nook and cranny on the island. Jaden sighed quietly to himself, fully aware that they were smack in the middle of the most inefficient rescue mission he had ever been apart of, but also he knew that it was entirely his doing by this point. He had been so blind to the reality of the situation he had missed every single clear cut answer that had been staring him in the face the entire time, answers that the others had been discussing since the very beginning, and he ignored them and led them all on a wild goose chase because he didn't want to accept the fact that such a seemingly kind soul would be the cause of their misfortune. With the dorm in sight he sighed quietly again, still quite angry with himself for all of the time he had forced them to waste. But his spirits lifted when he took another look at the building. There, standing on the terrace on the upper level of the dorm, stood Alice, looking out on the island with no doubt the same plastic smile on her face. Seeing the four boys strolling down the path she waved, making her way down the steps to properly greet them.

"_Here we go.." _Jaden thought, glancing around at his friends, hoping they were thinking the same as him. As much as he wanted to take the direct approach and just confront her outright, he realized it would be better to try and coax any information out of her without directly accusing her. Letting her know they knew it was her could only serve to put Hassleberry at greater risk. Knowing there was always a reason for kidnappings like this all too well, he knew that whatever reason she had for taking him, it was a hundred percent guaranteed to be really bad for him if she knew her act had been seen through.

"Hello, everyone!" Alice greeted thusly, waving again as the four boys approached her from a short ways down the path. "How was the big interrogation?"

"How do you know about that?" Atticus questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. From what he could recall he was fairly certain they'd never mentioned it to her before.

"I saw you guys head down there earlier. I figured that's what you had to be doing, right?" She answered, tilting her head slightly in a questioning manner as she inquired about their previous course of action.

"Yes, that is correct." Bastion nodded in answer to her inquiry, keeping a close eye on her as he kept vigil studying the subtleties of her body language throughout their exchange. "Though our efforts heeded little results."

"Yeah." Syrus added, sighing quietly, trying to add a slight bit of extra emotion to make an attempt at being more convincing. "Back to square one it looks like.."

"Oh my…" Alice sighed as well, doing her best to come off as innocent as possible. With the number of suspects dwindling, she quickly realized it was only a matter of time before they discovered her true involvement as well as her intentions with their young, dinosaur loving friend. "No new developments at all..?"

"Well no, not if you consider ruling out the Society as a development." Atticus stated in a matter of fact sort of manner. Bringing levity was almost second nature to him, living the majority of his life as a carefree and vibrant young man. And unlike Alice, his positive attitude and optimistic aura was far from an act. "And at this point I'm sure we're willing to consider anything at all a development all things considered."

"Oh." She said, nodding at his statement as his truth was not lost on her. "Yes. Yes, of course."

"Actually, we wanted to ask you something, Alice." Jaden said, taking a deep but subtle breath as he prepared to enter the dangerous verbal territory. Depending on how the next few minutes went Hassleberry's fate could potentially end up being decided. It was a terrifying thought to think of knowing that a single wrong word could potentially hurt his friend. There was no doubting that Alice was the one clearly holding him captive, what they needed to find out was where he was, and why she'd taken him in the first place. What had she to gain from it? Well they were going to find out one way or another, that much he knew.

"Oh? What is it?" Alice inquired, raising an eyebrow while her gaze shifted to the second shortest boy there. Her eyes looked the same as they always had, but even so Jaden could already see something different and off hidden within the pools of flawless sapphire blue among the purest white. A dark spark he had never noticed before, and it was more than a little unsettling to be sure. It was an almost evil quality about her, one that he'd never experienced before in his life. If anything, it was fair to say she was starting to scare him already with his new, unblinded perspective of her.

"Well," He began, nervous though he did his best to come off casual and nonshelaunt about the whole thing "we were wondering if maybe you knew something?" her body language changed almost immediately, however subtle it was she stiffened. "You know, we were wondering if maybe you heard something while we were off investigating."

"Indeed." Bastion nodded in agreement, his eyes carefully studying her as they continued to speak "Any information at all now would be invaluable to our search."

"Yes, of course." She agreed, physically looking a slight bit like she was trying to come up with an answer. Clearly, she hadn't been prepared for such an occasion to arise. Catching her off guard certainly proved to be even the slightest bit of help to them, only solidifying their suspicions. "I'm sorry, I don't know anything more than you.."

"That's too bad." Syrus replied, a small sigh escaping his lips once more, hoping he would be able to help convince her that they actually believed what she was saying, though of course it was evident that they didn't. At least not a hundred percent, hopefully that's how she saw it too. "We need to find him before something bad happens.."

"Right." Atticus concurred, glancing down at the small bluenette. "He could get hurt if we don't find him soon. Unless he's already been.."

"I do hope he's alright…" Alice sighed, a sad frown coming over her face. "He's so sweet...he doesn't deserve this…"

"No, he doesn't." Jaden nodded, a slight glare beaming down at her as he could finally see straight through her guise. She knew exactly what she was doing and who she was doing it too. The anger was building up inside of him, wanting nothing more than to call her out outright, but he knew he couldn't do that if he wanted to keep his friend safe despite the fact that no matter what they did, he would still be in danger. Until they found him nothing they did could prevent her from doing whatever she wanted to him, he knew that full well, but still they could try. "We need to find him soon. If you ever hear anything, please tell us."

"Yes, we trust you'll let us know if you find anything?" Bastion inquired, raising an eyebrow along with his inquiry as he peered down at the young lady.

"Of course." She answered, nodding at the four boys, a serious and stern look on her face while she attempted to keep up her act. If she let up now, everything she had planned would be for nothing, and she her evil intentions never fulfilled, and she couldn't let that happen. Her need for vengeance was far too great for her to allow idiot teenagers to stand in her way. "You'll be the first to know."

"Thank you, Alice." Syrus smiled, keeping up his own rouse, though in truth he would've liked nothing more than to clock her in the face for taking their friend. But also of course he knew even if he did it wouldn't do much. He was very physically weak in most every sense after all, a fact that Hassleberry had always made a point to call attention to. And to be perfectly honest, he almost missed that now that he was gone.

"I-I should really be getting back to work now." She said, stuttering a slight bit before regaining her composure as she tried to weasle her way out of the increasingly awkward conversation all things considered. "I was in the middle of some cleaning when I stepped out for some air."

"Oh yeah, sure. We should be getting back to our investigation ourselves." Atticus nodded, feigning understanding though he knew that was a completely bold faced lie if ever there was one. Knowing she was the only one left who could've taken Hassleberry didn't help her in trying to come off innocent since they all knew she wasn't, as much as it hurt Jaden to admit she couldn't be trusted like he had hoped she could've been.

"Of course." She replied, glancing one more time at each of the four young men, her eyes lingering for a moment on Bastion, who was still carefully but discreetly studying her throughout the conversation. "See you all later." offering the group a smile she turned away, walking back up the stairs and into the room she had taken residence in. The boys however remained outside, looking around at each other, their thoughts all coming together in a single moment of clarity.

"She's definitely been lying to us." Bastion concluded, thinking back on all that he had observed through their time with her, "She looked more than a little uncomfortable when Jaden asked if she knew anything. I'd say that all we need to do now is find where she's taken him."

"I agree." Atticus nodded in agreement, crossing his arms as he thought about what they ought to do next. There were only so many places they had left to look, and now that she had to know they were suspicious, there couldn't be too much time left before she made her next move. And more likely than not, that play would include bringing harm to Hassleberry, assuming she hadn't done so already, which was also a very likely course of events to have taken place. "Let's figure out a plan for the search. We don't want to waste anymore time with false leads."

"Right.." Jaden sighed, fully aware that the guys were bound to be more than a little upset with him for causing that to happen, but also they understood how badly he wanted her to be innocent. Jaden never wanted to believe anyone was truly bad, and always looked to see the good in others, but sometimes the good just wasn't there. But even so he was determined to make up for his mistake, and bring their friend home. "No more bullshit. I promise." he declared, staring intently with a fire of determination burning in his eyes as he looked over his friends. Determined to bring Hassleberry home, and determined to protect the friends he had left. No one else would be taken from him on his watch, Jaden swore that to himself in a silent vow. And as long as he had any say in it, Alice was going to pay dearly for her crime. No matter what they had to do, they would find Hassleberry and bring him back safe. Nodding along at each other the others seemed to have had the same thought. After all, if one of them was hurt, they were all hurt. And they swore that Alice would answer for what she had done, just as all who had commited the crime before her.

"_We're on to you, Alice." _Jaden thought, turning slightly towards the Slifer dorm, shooting a glare in her direction, almost as if he were trying to look straight through the walls. "_It's all over for you now."_


	6. Chapter 6

_**-Chapter 6-**_

Hassleberry laid still on the cold stone ground, a small blood staining pool formed by his side where the blood from the numerous deep cuts on his back had dripped down and onto the stone. Though his back had received most all of the abuse, his entire body hurt. Laying there on his left side every inch of his body felt sore and sensitive like he had been trampled by a stampede and somehow survived the onslaught. His wrists had been chained together in front of him, the metal chain connecting to another chain connected to the stone floor, keeping him from being able to move too far had he the strength even stand up to try. After all, Alice had seen to it that she took as much of his strength as she could before. The pain was dulling slowly over time, having nothing to do but lay there in his own slowly pooling blood now that she had given him a time of reprieve while she returned to the dorms, not wanting the others to notice her absence. It seemed as if she had all of her bases covered in her twisted scheme. But Hassleberry knew his friends far better than she did. No matter how dark things got, they served as a light that would always shine through, never failing each other before, and certainly not failing him now. No matter what she did to try and steer them off the path, they would find their way to him, his faith in that was unshakable.

"_I believe in you, Sarge…" _He thought, lying silently on the ground he winced, a sharp pain shot through him as his body shifted ever slightly to a more comfortable position, or at least as comfortable as he could be on a stone floor. "_A-And I won't let her win...when you come for me, I'll be waiting...promise.."_

Laying in another moment of silence a frustrated growl cut through the stagnant air around him. Glancing up from his extremely exciting view of the floor, his eyes locked on Alice's petite form as she stormed into the room, a look of deep anger adorning her face. If he had been able, He would've made a run for it then before she could get her hands on him again, but with the shackles clasped tightly around his wrists and as well around his ankles he wouldn't be able to make it very far. And on top of that, his body was still numb with pain, slowly recovering from the abuse she had put him through. But judging by the look on her face now, she was gearing up for a round two.

"Still where I left you?" She observed, raising an eyebrow at the boy's still form, though she wasn't at all surprised. "Good boy."

"G-Go to hell.." Hassleberry mumbled under his tired breath. He knew the remark would be pointless to direct at her, all things considered knowing what she was. But still it made him feel a little better on the inside to let her know just how much he disliked her now, ashamed of himself for how quick and hard he had fallen for her before. If only he'd known better, maybe he wouldn't be in this situation now? Of course he knew it wasn't true, but even so the thought somehow kept his mind off of the pain still enveloping his body.

"Seriously?" She sighed frustratedly, shaking her head in disappointment at her young prisoner. "You _do _realize I'm _from _hell, right? I distinctly remember mentioning that." Waving off her own annoyed words she glared back down at the boy, clearing having more pressing matters on her mind than a simple scolding. "Never mind that. It seems your friends aren't as hopelessly stupid as I thought they were." the anger was prevalent in her tone, clearly she was more than a little frustrated by this turn of events, the turn decidedly not in her favor.

"Wha-"

"-I suppose I'll have to deal with them myself." She muttered venomously, thinking up a plan of action moving forward on the fly. But most important to her was the acquisition of Hassleberry's soul. With it she could finally gain the strength to shed the form which she had been sealed within so long ago. If she could manage that, then it wouldn't matter if the others had found her out or not, she could just as easily destroy them and be done with it. But until that time came, she still had work to do. "But they can wait. Don't forget, it's your turn, sweetie." She chuckled, stepping closer to the bound boy on the ground before her, kneeling down once she was close enough to him that the distance wasn't awkwardly far but also not too terribly close. "And you really are such a good little toy."

"...N-Not a toy.." Hassleberry mumbled, coughing while she frowned and quickly shoved his body over so that he landed hard on his wounded back, swiftly turning the coughs into cries of pain. He didn't bother trying to stifle it, knowing she'd get just as much satisfaction from watching him struggle to remain stalwart as she would seeing him give in to the pain. True he was sturdier than most normal people, but that didn't change the fact that he was still a human being. And as such he felt pain, and sometimes it was just too much for even him to handle.

"As if you're anything else to me." She huffed, unimpressed by his attempts to resist her. From where she was standing he really wasn't in any sort of position to be trying anything at all, chained and beaten as he was, the blood staining the ground beneath him was even further proof of that. In her eyes she really was the one coming out the winner. "A toy, and a tool. Nothing more." laughing quietly to herself she placed her hands on Hassleberry, turning him back to face her, hoisting him back up to his knees, still kneeling before him herself. Her glass, sapphire eyes staring deeply into his own pale brown orbs. His eyes were weary, yet not yet defeated. Something she intended to soon fix. "What does it take to break a dinosaur?" she questioned, using a term she figured he would be able to understand, though she didn't at all expect him to answer her. The question was more rhetorical than anything after all. Taking her right index finger she traced circular patterns along his flesh, a dark smile coming across her face as he stiffened at her touch, uncomfortable with her being so close to him knowing what she was and considering what she had already done to him. "Surely more than a silly little whip."

"S-Stop." He managed to choke out, trying to back away from her as far as he could, but with his range limited by the chains restraining him he couldn't get very far. And as he backed away she only inched closer, not letting him escape her touch, too entertained by how uncomfortable and skittish he seemed to get with her hands on him.

"Don't you understand, child?" She asked, giggling to herself before swiftly placing her hand under his chin, squeezing until her nails dug into his skin, keeping him from turning away from her. "You're at my mercy. And your soul is going to be mine, whether you like it or not." Alice continued laughing to herself, taking in too much joy from the boy's suffering, but such was her nature. She lived to inflict despair and misery onto others, it fed her, it gave her life. Hassleberry wriggled in her grip, backed up far enough for the chains holding him were pulled tightly enough for moving his arms to prove extremely difficult, so trying to push her off outright wasn't exactly a viable option for him. Her nails however were sharp, and began to cut into the soft skin of his face as her hold tightened, refusing to let him go. She laughed at his pitiful struggle, relashing the utter scorn he looked upon her with, feeding off of the negative energy his form exuded. Smiling once more at him she used all of her force to throw him to the ground, his body smacking the stone with a great thud despite the fact he was already on his knees. Climbing onto his downed form she held him down with her weight as she summoned the shadowy tendrils once again, the dark forms surrounding them, slowly wrapping themselves around Hassleberry's defenseless form, holding him so that he couldn't move anymore, rendering him completely helpless against her and whatever she had planned for him next. His bare and cut back pressing against the rigid stone ground beneath him he moaned and took in a sharp and swift breath as the pain radiated through his body, her weight only pushing him down, practically smearing his wounds into the hard ground. Pulling what appeared to be a small dagger out from the skirt of her dress she smirked while his own eyes widened as the metal glinted in the soft glow of the dark shadows helping to bind him. If things weren't already looking grim -which they most certainly were- they definitely were now.

"You really are such a strong little boy." She giggled, taking the blade and running it lightly along his tender skin, the cold steel of the knife sending shivers down his spine as it tickled his skin, fear sinking in with the thought that at any second she could shove it down, breaking through the fleshy barrier and exposing even more of his blood to the outside world than she already had. He could feel his breath begin to slowly pick up speed as he watched the knife dance across his skin. For the first time in a long time, he was terrified. It was an odd sensation to him, being afraid. He hadn't felt fear in such a long time, it was starting to become an almost foreign feeling to him. But lying there, chained and helpless, a literal demon more or less straddling his weakened body with a knife in her hands, fear was just about the only thing he felt at all on the inside. "I wonder, what would happen, if someone tried to take that strength away?" laughing a dark and low laugh she raised the knife, letting it linger before bringing it down. Hassleberry let out a soul shattering cry, screwing his eyes shut as he turned his face away, bracing for the impact of the blade, but a moment passed and he still felt no incision. His breath still swift and fearful he slowly and cautiously cracked one eye open, turning slowly to look at her. She sat still over him, the blade held mere centimeters from his chest, and a smile plastered to her porcelain face. Taking a moment of silence she bursted out laughing, her shrill voice cutting through the air like a horde of razors. Looking back down at him she leaned forwards, placing her free hand on his cheek, her voice overwhelming with the glee of a giddy schoolgirl.

"Is that fear in your eyes?" Alice inquired, already knowing the answer to her posed question as giggles continued to escape from her lips while she spoke. "Oh you poor dear, so helpless and afraid. Whatever are you going to do?" She honestly couldn't have cared less what he was going to say. Before he even had a chance to hurl a venomous remark her way she shifted the position of her hand which clutched the dagger, swiftly driving it deep into the flesh of his left leg, extracting a painful scream from his throat as she twisted the knife deeper, a malicious grin staring him down while her eyes narrowed despite the happiness she felt inside in that moment. While the blood rushed from the fresh wound it stained the fabric of his pants, turning the light brown into a sickly looking maroon sort of color as his blood soaked the fabric around the wound while it seeped down and dripped onto the floor. While his blood decorated the ground beneath them Alice felt a rush of dark energy exude from the eye of horus he had been laid across. Taking a deep breath she drew in the energy, feeling her demonic power begin to surge and grow inside of her physical prison. Smiling darkly she realized just what she was dealing with. Right there below her, laid the door to the realm of darkness itself.

"J-Jaden…!" Hassleberry cried out, begging for his friend to come and deliver him from this torment, the pain from his leg surging through his entire body, his eyes rapidly shifting from human to reptilian as the aura around him became clouded and dark, deeply aggravating his conflicting and strange DNA. "H-Help m-me..!"

"Poor child.." She sighed, shaking her head before jabbing the blade once more into the freshly cut wound, relishing in his continued screams. "No one can help you now." leaning forward her long and curly hair draped down beside them, smiling in a deceptively sweet fashion her tone quieted down to a whisper before she took his face in her free hand again. "Now, you're mine." Before he could even protest she made her move, forcing her lips down onto his, trapping him in a kiss with her hand still tightly clutching his face to keep him from turning away. But even so he fought her, his eyes widened as he tried to break away, doing everything in his power to get her away from him, doing his best to keep his lips tightly shut and stationary, not even for a second entertaining the thought of kissing her back. He wasn't about to let her have the satisfaction she was pining for.

"_Please stop.." _He begged, closing his eyes tightly and taking deep breaths through his nose as he waited for her to finally give up on trying to get a reaction out of him. That's what she wanted after all, and he wasn't about to give it to her. Especially not this way. Waiting a moment longer he felt her lips leave his, an exasperated growl escape her before her composure calmed. Opening his eyes again he could see the deep frown on her face, unhappy with the turn of events.

"What's this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy, still with a stark frown present. "Wasn't it just yesterday you were madly in love with me?"

"T-That was before I knew...that you were such a bitch.." He cringed through the pain, but still he was proud of himself for resisting even just this. If he could deny her any satisfaction he was glad it was this. Growling again she took up her hand, bringing the back of it down swiftly and forcefully across his face, angry that he still could resist her in any sense. The blade still stuck out of his leg, making it even more difficult to try to move it even without the chains and shadows holding him down, much less with Alice's own weight on top of him too.

"These will be your final hours." She growled, about had enough with the ever resilient teen. Motioning to the darkness a section came around, wrapping itself over his mouth again, sparing her more of his whining and pathetic whimpers. "And I assure you, they won't be enjoyable ones." Glaring down at the boy before standing once more, removing her weight from atop his weakened body, if she had anything to say about it, which of course she did, she would make his final moments as uncomfortable as possible, such was her nature as a demon. The dark energy exuding from the very ground beneath her feet fed her own power, making her feel stronger than she had in decades. If ever there was the perfect time for her to act, it was now.

"_You're mine, little boy." _She thought, chuckling to herself as she set to work absorbing every bit of darkness that she could, increasing her strength effectively and significantly in the process. "_Pity that this darkness isn't enough to free me from this horrid form. A soul such as yours, humanity may never see again." _Turning her gaze briefly to the boy as he remained laid out on the cold stone ground she smiled at the blood continuing to slowly seep from the stab wound she had inflicted upon him, the blade still protruding from his leg she smirked at her handiwork, happy with all that she had done.

"_Looks like this is just about it for me, Sarge…" _Hassleberry thought, squirming in his bonds while he moaned in pain as his battered back scrapped on the stone ground and the knife mingling with the insides of his left leg having been left in. "_I'm waiting for you guys...I-I'll try to hang in there...but she's wearing me down slow but sure.." _the pain encircling his form was consuming, his body feeling light and limp with the blood he had been losing for hours now. Finally it seemed the adrenaline created by his fear was starting to wear off as his eyelids began to droop and grow heavy. The corners of his vision slowly began to blacken as the release of unconsciousness slowly took its hold over him. It had been a long time since he had passed out like this. Slowly, with no guarantee that when he woke up again things would be okay. That is, if he woke up at all. The last time he'd felt such a sensation was the day he had the surgery on his leg after the accident. He had woken up in the hospital, only for the doctors to put him back to sleep after briefly explaining that he was going into surgery. In a way the feeling of slowly losing his grip on reality was more terrifying to him than the fact that he was being held hostage and tortured by a _literal _demon. As his eyelids continued to slowly fall over his eyes he caught a glimpse of Alice as she approached him once more, holding something in her hand through through his blurry and continuously fading vision he couldn't quite tell what it was. Slowly she kneeled down next to him, as she did he could feel the shadowy tendrils slink away and off of his body, returning to Alice's own shadow beneath her. Moaning in discomfort as she shifted his body he felt the chains release from his wrists. Had he the energy, he'd have made an attempt to escape despite the fact his ankles were still chained together. But before he could really even try to make any movement she forced him into a sitting position, forcibly pulling his arms behind his back before snapping the iron bonds back into place, effectively trapping his arms behind his back, only serving to cause him even more discomfort than before, which was most likely her whole point. Pausing a beat, through his darkened and blurry vision he watched her bring her hands in front of his face, finally recognizing the thing in her hand before as a piece of cloth as she stuck it in his mouth and tied it tight so he couldn't get it off.

"You be a good boy and wait." Alice commanded, shoving him back down onto the ground, earning her a muffled cry of pain from her young prisoner. She kneeled down next to him for a moment, placing her right hand on his face, creepily caressing him for a moment with the intention of making him even more uncomfortable than he was already. "When I get back, we'll get started on the _tiny _matter of your soul extraction." Laughing to herself she took her free hand and ripped the dagger from his left leg, extracting another pained cry from the boy as more blood began to seep from the now exposed wound, further drenching the fabric of his pants around the wound with his blood.

"_I-I could really use your help, Sarge…" _He thought, no longer able to keep his eyes open he could feel the exhaustion begin to take him, though all he could truly focus on was the all encompassing pain all over his body, and the fear still gripping his spirit. "_Y'know…I-I'd really prefer...n-not dying…" _as he laid there on the cold stone ground he could hear Alice's cold and malicious laughter echoing in his ears, growing further and further away as she made her way out, no doubt going to check on the status of the remaining J-Squad, hoping they weren't close enough to her trail to disrupt her plan, though he truly and sincerely hoped that they would be. He had realized from the beginning that he wasn't going to be able to get himself out of this situation on his own, but it was agonizing waiting for his saviors to find him. "_Is this what it's like…? Being Syrus…?" _he chuckled weakly to himself as his last moments of consciousness began to fade away, he thought of all the times he had been told how Syrus had always been a magnet for trouble, always being taken and used to exploit Jaden or his brother Zane. Of course he knew their situations were hardly the same, but still the thought helped keep his mind away from the horrible pain his still felt covering his body. Taking a slow, deep breath Hassleberry allowed the abyss of sleep to claim him, losing himself in a much needed moment of sleep. But even so, he deeply hoped that when he woke up again, it wouldn't be for the last time.

Jaden sighed quietly, rolling over in his bed as he tried to find a comfortable position so that _maybe _he could sleep. Still he knew it wasn't his position that kept him awake, but his thoughts. He couldn't get his mind off of Hassleberry no matter how hard he tried. The boy had been missing for about two days now technically as it was after midnight. And still they had next to no clues at all about his whereabouts. The only thing they were sure of was that Alice was the one who had taken him, despite how she was acting so distant from the problem and as if she was completely uninvolved. But still they had no clue where she could have him locked away, at least nowhere that made sense to them.

"_I'm gonna kill myself when we find out he's somewhere we should've searched from the start." _he thought, huffing out a strong exhale before throwing his left arm over his eyes, angry with himself for not having found him yet. He had to be hurt, there was no question about that in Jaden's mind. It was a horrible thing to realize, that his friend was most likely hurt and that it was most assuredly his fault for not finding him fast enough. The guilt was tearing him apart inside, and he knew the others were feeling if not the same, then fairly similar. They were all in this together. Afterall, Hassleberry needed them, and they were failing exponentially. "_I'm sorry, Hassleberry…" _he sighed, curling himself up into a ball under his covers, unable to forgive himself for letting this happen. Laying in silence for a moment Jaden swore he heard a familiar sound. Waiting a moment longer he felt a small body curl up beside him, Pharaoh's familiar purs lightening the atmosphere around the depressed teen. Looking over at the cat Jaden smiled softly, adjusting his body so he could easily pet the little guy. Pharaoh always made him feel better, providing adorable companionship whenever Syrus wasn't around to be that himself. Smiling softly at the cat he finally started to feel more at ease for the first time since Hassleberry disappeared.

"You know, Pharaoh?" He asked, gently petting the cat as he purred in content. "I really appreciate your company right now…"

Fully enjoying his time with the now less sad brunette, Pharaoh snuggled a little closer to him, happy as well with the teen's companionship. Taking a moment longer to enjoy himself, he let out an adorably cute meow, paving the way for a certain ball of light to escape from the cat's body.

"_Jaden!"_

Freezing for a split second Jaden quickly shook his head before glancing around the room, looking for the source of the all too familiar voice.

"Professor Banner…?" Jaden asked, his eyes fixating on the small, glowing sphere bouncing in the air beside him.

'_Yes, Jaden, It's me." _Banner answered, his spirit moving a little closer before revealing his full spectral form, now sitting beside the young teen. "_I have something very important to discuss with you." _Jaden noticed very quickly that Banner's tone had darkened, a sort of urgency coming over his voice as he continued to speak. "_It's about your missing friend."_

"Hassleberry?" Jaden gasped, his eyes widening at the mention of his friend's name, instinctively moving closer to his late professor, as if being in closer proximity to the information would get him closer to his kidnapped friend. "What about him? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"_Calm down, Jaden." _Banner soothed, reaching a hand out to the distressed teen. "_I can't be certain about his condition, but what I need to tell you is about the girl who kidnapped him." _Jaden's heart sank as Banner continued his explanation. With the sullen mood he was already in it wasn't helping him at all to cope with what information was being relayed to him by his late professor. "_Now you must listen to me very carefully, Jaden. That girl, Alice, she is not of this world."_

"You mean...like you…?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow at the ghost beside him.

"_Oh no." _Banner answered, shaking his head at his former student before continuing on. "_It's far worse than that, I'm afraid. You see, that girl is a much darker entity than I. Not a ghost, but a demon, from the very underworld itself!"_

"W-wait, what?" Jay gasped in disbelief. Ghosts were one thing, clearly since he was currently in a conversation with one, but _demons_? "H-how the hell do you know that?"

"_You see, when she first arrived, Pharaoh was almost immediately afraid of her, being more intuitive than humans are." _Banner explained, hoping that somehow Jaden would be able to understand the finer details of his story. "_But once he came into contact with the young lady, being now apart of the spirit world, I could sense her demonic presence."_

"W-well what does this have to do with Hassleberry!?" Jaden exclaimed, in desperate need of information regarding the whereabouts of his missing friend. "What did she kidnap him for? What was the point?"

"_Listen to me, Jaden. I'm sure you already know this, but your friend Hassleberry is no ordinary human." _Banner began, Jaden nodding along as he spoke, trying to absorb all the information that he could in hopes of helping the young dino duelist. "_Along with his enhanced dna, that boy also possesses a soul so pure and untainted by darkness and malevolence, that with it she could obtain a terrifying amount of power. Enough for her to destroy us all if she so desired it."_

"Whoa…" Jaden exclaimed, hardly able to believe his ears. It was all so much to take in, and as much it was confirming his worry that Hassleberry was most definitely in a great deal of danger. "I'm not gonna lie, you're kinda blowing my mind, professor...this is a lot to take in.."

"_Well unfortunately there's no time to let it process." _Banner said, his tone just as straight and serious as before, but Jaden could hear a sliver of concern sneaking in as he spoke, clearly worried as well for the young duelist. "_You're running out of time. You need to rescue your friend and you need to do it now!"_

"But how?" Jaden questioned, seriously pining for an answer, to be told what he had to do to save his friend and bring him home safely. "We've been searching since he disappeared, we have no clue where he is!"

"_Oh but you do."_ Banner answered, placing a ghostly hand on the boy's shoulder, fully aware that he was already beginning to phase through him without a physical form anymore, but it didn't quite matter to him now. Not when an innocent life was at risk. "_She's taken him to the abandoned dorm."_

Jaden's world completely shattered around him in just that one moment. He had begun to suspect as much, but none of them thought it was logical since for all they knew, neither of them knew where the place was, and it wouldn't have been exactly viable for her to take him to a place she couldn't easily find. But of course they had entertained the thought, especially with the dwindling list of places they still had yet to search, but with every mention of the dorm, Atticus practically begged them to stay away. And knowing the elder boy's history with the abandoned dorm, they obliged for his sake. But now knowing that Hassleberry was there, suffering alone all this time, Jaden couldn't have hated himself more in that moment for not insisting harder that they go there.

"Idiot!" He shouted, practically smacking his head into his hands, more than a little upset with himself in that moment. "How could I have been so _stupid _all this time!?"

"_It's alright, Jaden." _Banner soothed, patting his shoulder, though his hand merely phased through the depressed teen, rendering the gesture rather moot. "_What's important is that you bring him back safely."_

"But I…" Jaden began, extremely distressed by everything he had heard. But mostly by the realization that he had impeded Hassleberry's rescue on not one, but two accounts. Both his captor, _and _his prison. And on top of that, he was convinced that the boy had to be injured, she had to have hurt him after all this time. If something truly had happened to Hassleberry because of his stupidity and negligence then by Slifer he swore he would never forgive himself. And he wouldn't expect the others to forgive him either.

"_Listen, Jaden. I understand that you feel terrible, and that you want to feel sorry for yourself, but your friend is running out of time." _Banner insisted, attempting to rouse Jaden from his misery and guilt, "_You need to gather the others and make haste to the dorm immediately if you want to see him alive again!"_

"But Banner, I don't understand." Jaden hesitated, thinking for a moment before shaking his head at the late professor, a tone of slight frustration coming over his words as he raised his voice at the ghost. "Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner? Why did you let me waste so much time?"

"_Believe me, Jaden, if I'd have had my way I would've told you immediately." _Banner explained, doing his best to appease the distressed teen before he did anything to incur his anger any more than he no doubt already had. "_But of course Pharaoh didn't see fit to let me." _Shaking his ethereal head at the cat curled up by Jaden's side, he sighed, really feeling bad about the whole thing himself. "_After all, my coming to speak to you depends on his discretion."_

"Yeah, I guess.." Jaden sighed, swinging his legs over the side of the bottom bunk he was sat on, adjusting his Slifer jacket before standing from the bed. He hadn't bothered to change out of his clothes before laying down to sleep. He knew he wouldn't be able to with the sheer amount of mind numbing guilt that had been consuming him this whole time. Besides, even if he had fallen asleep, he'd slept in his clothes plenty of times before so the thought of it didn't really bother him too much. "But next time, don't let me screw up this badly...okay?" he asked, turning a soft gaze to his dear professor It was safe to say he missed having him around all the time, in fact, they all did. But even so, a moment as small as this was still enough.

"_I promise." _Banner nodded, offering a smile to his former student. "_But now you must hurry and gather your friends. You'll all need to work together to defeat her."_

"And how are we supposed to do _that_?" Jaden questioned, walking over to the door and putting his shoes on, raising an eyebrow at the eccentric professor. "She's a _demon _remember? You said so yourself!"

"_Yes, that I did." _Banner nodded, standing up from the bed, followed by Pharaoh who pranced over to Jaden once again, rubbing his body on the teen's legs, still purring up a storm. No doubt about it, he was the cutest kitty the world ever did see. "_And as you're aware, I used to watch more than my share of horror movies."_

"And your point is..?"

"_My _point, _is that I can give you a few ideas that just might work. That is, if movies have even the slightest bit of truth in them."_

"Well, it's worth a shot, I guess.." Jaden sighed, sincerely concerned that the only plan he could possibly have in that moment was to take advice from the ghost of his dead professor, whose advice was coming from the movies. But still, Banner did know more about the occult than anyone else he had ever known, so at least the ridiculous prattle was being filtered through a man who knew a great deal about science and spiritual entities, so maybe the information could be just credible enough to get them through this. But still, with Hassleberry's life on the line, he wasn't quite so ready to just believe everything Banner said would work. But if it gave him even the slightest chance of rescuing his friend, well then he was willing to go to the ends of the earth and back again to bring him back safe and sound. And most importantly, alive.


	7. Chapter 7

_**-Chapter 7-**_

Jaden ran as fast as he could to collect the others. It had been a fairly easier endeavor than it could've been, since the others had all opted to crash in the rather large room Chazz had previously had built onto the dorm so they could all stay close together in case something happened in the night. Of course first he made a stop by Banner's old room for 'demon slaying supplies' first. Salt, holy water, and a lighter. Jaden still didn't quite believe that Banner's plan entirely based on horror movies would work, but if there was anything he knew about the occult, it was that holy water was great to have, and salt was effective against ghosts. But of course, she was a demon not a ghost, so he wondered if the salt would really work against her. But even so, he was willing to try. When he reached the others they hadn't exactly been happy to be woken up so late, which was completely understandable all things considered, but Jaden's practically hysterical explanation of the situation at hand appeased them pretty quickly.

"We're almost there!" Jaden informed as they ran as quickly as they could through the dark woods, the others tailing closely behind him. In his pocket he carried their only weapons. Although of all of them he was only certain about the holy water as an effective means of combat against her, and to be perfectly honest, he was a little steamed that Banner was so insistent that he not try to duel her. They solved _everything _with dueling, what should be any different now? But then again she wasn't of this world, so Banner was probably right to caution him against it.

"I hope we're not too late…" Syrus hoped, actually starting to regret spending so much time arguing with Hassleberry and just generally disliking him.

"It's gonna be alright, Sy." Atticus soothed, trying just as much to convince _himself _than he was trying to convince Syrus. It was difficult to believe that things were going to turn out okay, especially considering that Hassleberry had apparently been kidnapped by a _demon_. But still they had to believe, otherwise they were most assuredly setting themselves up to fail. But as they closed in on the dorm, the dark aura surrounding the area grew stronger, Atticus' fear rising significantly as they came closer. Every time he had been in that place, something terrible happened either to himself, or to someone he cared about. It was a cursed place, one that he wished had never existed at all, then maybe all of the terrible things that happened since he disappeared could've been prevented, and maybe he never would've disappeared in the first place. As they ran in silence they all shared a common fear, a common dread, that they would be too late to save their dear young friend. But at the same time, they held the common hope that everything would be alright. Those conflicting feelings kept them going in that moment, with the deep rooted desire to know whether the hope or the fear would ultimately win out in the end.

"This is it, the dorm should be just around the next bend!" Bastion informed, pointing the way as they kept their up their speed as best they could, but Syrus was starting to trail slightly behind, growing rather weary from having to run so far and fast without a break. He wasn't built for physical activity, but still he did his best to push through.

"Hang in there, Sy, we're almost there." Jaden said, turning his gaze back to his best friend, beginning to worry about him. Rounding the corner they closed in on the dorm, the feelings of dread growing exponentially inside of them. Giving themselves time to pull themselves together they stopped at the gate.

"So, what are we gonna do..?" Atticus questioned as he caught his breath, looking to Jaden since clearly he had some sort of idea of what to do considering the haste and urgency he exhibited earlier, practically pulling them all out of bed himself. Jaden was kneeled down next to Syrus, having sat him down against the gate to let him rest for a moment while they organized themselves.

"Well before we do anything we'll have to locate Hassleberry." Bastion analyzed, crossing his arms and observing the dorm as he took in slow deep breaths, catching his breath as well from the all but frantic run.

"He's in the basement." Jaden informed, no room in his mind for doubt. Knowing full well what was down there and experiencing some crazy shit of his own, it seemed almost guaranteed that that's where she would have him stashed away. "No doubt about it."

"Yeah..." Atticus sighed, wanting nothing more than to _not _go down there. But with Hassleberry's life at risk, he didn't really have a choice but to face his fear and go along with them into the depths of that cursed structure. Taking a deep breath he turned to the other three teens, not quite ready to face the darkness within the building, but certainly ready to save their friend's life. "We'd better hurry if we wanna make it in time."

"Right." Jaden nodded up at the eldest student, hoisting himself back up from the ground before offering his hand to Syrus. "You good to go, Sy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Syrus answered, taking his best friends hand while Jaden pulled him up off of the ground, steadying himself as his legs were still a little bit tired and wobbly, but he'd been able to regain enough energy to press on. "Let's go rescue Hassleberry!"

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Bastion agreed, offering a small smile to the little bluenette as Jaden nodded along, turning his stern and serious gaze to the dark and imposing building standing before them, the building that had become their dear friend's prison.

"Let's go, then." Jaden said sternly, narrowing his eyes at the dark structure before him as he lead the others forwards, walking swiftly but cautiously through the broken front door, entering the dorm's parlor. It was just as dark and empty as they remembered, and even then, it was even creepier in the dark of the night now than it had been all of the other times they had come. Even the air around them seemed heavier, feeling as if there was a deep pressure in their chests, pushing down against their bodies.

"Are you alright, Atticus…?" Syrus asked, looking up at the oldest teen, noting the fearful and distressed look on his face and his stiff and uncomfortable body language as they stood there in the parlor, taking a moment to mentally map their course down to the basement. No matter what he would've said, they knew he was far from fine. If they had any true say in it they would've left Atticus back at the Slifer dorm so he wouldn't've had to face this place again, but knowing there was a demon on the island, and also with the Society on the loose, it really was better for them all to stick together.

"Y-Yeah." Atticus nodded, taking a second to pull himself together, trying to shake off the feeling of dread overtaking his form. "I'm fine. Let's just go get Hassleberry."

"You got it." Jaden nodded along, taking note of his own concerns for the elder teen before taking another look around the parlor, looking for the quickest route down to the basement. But before any of them could make another move, their ears were met with a sound none of them wanted to hear.

"Hassleberry!" Syrus called out in worry, their friend's muffled screams coming through the rickety and run down building, carried by the otherwise silent air around them. Without so much as a moment of hesitation Jaden tore off from the rest of the group, racing out of the parlor and into the pitch black corridors.

"Jaden, wait!" Bastion called after him, grabbing Atticus's hand before following the young brunette, the elder otherwise being rooted to the spot by more than one anxiety gripping his spirit in this place. Syrus followed in tandem, worried that Jaden could get himself hurt running around in a run down place like this with virtually no light and hardly working logical thought. As they followed him Jaden led the others through the dark and empty halls, following the muffled screams that echoed through the seemingly endless corridors. Jaden's heart was racing, the fear that gripped his spirit only grew as they closed in on their friend's cries of pain.

"_It's my fault..!" _He thought, breathing heavily as he sprinted along his way, tuning out the other's pleads for him to slow down. He just couldn't do that, not now. "_If only I hadn't been so stupid..!" _the guilt was eating away at him. Hassleberry was suffering, and more than that, he was in pain. All Jaden could think about was what he could've done to protect the young man, if only he had come to his senses right away and listened to Syrus' concerns about Alice from the very start because as always, he was right about everything. Visibly cringing as each heart wrenching scream reached his ears Jaden couldn't have blamed himself more in that moment. Giving himself a final burst of speed, soon bursting through the entrance to the deepest chamber, the others following as closely behind as they could. Stopping in his tracks Jaden's eyes widened, a gasp escaping from his lips as he laid his eyes on the scene. Hassleberry was stood in the center of the room, entangled in forms of solid shadows and chains. His arms were chained behind his back, completely exposing his bare chest and his ankles chained together as well, his visibly weakened from held up by the solid shadows emanating from Alice herself, the darkness wrapping itself around his arms and waist, making its way up his body and wrapping itself around his neck, holding his head up and in place so that he couldn't look away from her, and a cloth gag was tied in his mouth, muffling his screams but still allowing him slight use of his mouth. Alice herself stood before him, laughing maniacally while her right hand sank slowly further and further into his chest, searching for the boy's pure soul.

"Hassleberry!" Jaden shouted, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. True he'd seen some serious shit in his time, but it was fairly safe to say he had never seen someone literally stick their hand inside someone's chest before.

"W-What is she doing?" Syrus gasped, also in complete shock as he looked at the scene unfolding before them. Hearing the commotion behind her Alice frowned, turning her gaze to the small group of boys congregated by the entrance, practically frozen in shock seeing what she was doing to their young friend.

"Dear god…!" Bastion exclaimed, hardly able to even process what was going on. Being a man of science and logic, such paranormal occurrences didn't seem at all possible to him, despite of course everything strange he had experienced thus far in his time at the Academy. But even so, he was having great difficulty accepting that what he was seeing was real. Beside him Atticus could only stare in silence, unable to articulate a logical response. But not _only _because of what he saw. As well, it was what he _felt_. The overwhelming dark energy surrounding them almost felt like it was pushing down on him, and pulling him apart from the inside. A feeling he knew all too well, having been its prisoner for a full two years.

"Alice, stop!" Jaden cried, horrified by the scene unfolding before him. "Let him go!" Unable to remain stationary any longer he tore from his place at the room's entrance, swiftly making his way closer to his friend. If there was anything he could do to help, it just had to be done!

"SILENCE!" She roared, turning her body and swinging her free arm out with almost lightning speed. As she swung her arm out a venerable wall of darkness formed between her and the approaching teen, stopping him in his tracks. "I won't let you interfere with my plans!" Her eyes were iced over with malevolence, yet were dark and empty. Not a single spark of life shone in her dulled sapphire orbs. Plunging her arms deeper into Hassleberry's chest a heart wrenching cry escaped the boy's body, muffled slightly by the gag tied in his mouth. Jaden found himself frozen where he stood, almost as if his fear had taken form and rooted his legs to the spot. In all the time he'd known Hassleberry, he had never once heard him scream, or even so much as call for help like most everyone else he knew. He was always so strong and independent, always the one coming to one's assist. To see him looking so helpless and small, it just seemed so wrong. They rushed over to his side, Atticus trailing slightly behind. The dark energy permeating the air around then was starting to overwhelm him. Doing everything in his power to fight off the dark influences around him Atticus felt the weight of the world crashing down on him. For his own sake as well as Hassleberry's, he hoped to every deity he could think of that the could get out of there as soon as possible. Feeling around inside of his body a small bit more a smile crawled slowly across her face. Laughing up a storm she started pulling her arm out, causing Hassleberry to squirm and scream as loud as he could, screwing his eyes shut as the dark tendrils tightened their grip on him, trying to keep him from squirming around too much. Banging his fists against the dark wall Alice had formed between them, Jaden couldn't even understand the words coming from his own mouth, calling frantically for her to stop, but as soon as he began to almost beg to her, her arm exited Hassleberry's body, a bright light shining through the cracks between her fingers and her tightly closed fist. Jaden's heart stopped as he realized what had just happened. Syrus could hardly react, covering his mouth with his hands, unable to voice any sort of feeling as his eyes widened, terrified by what he had just witnessed. Bastion was speechless as well, grabbing Atticus's hand once more as they both stiffened, needed something, _anything _to hold onto, the eldest student was the closest thing available.

"Oh my god.." Atticus whispered quietly in disbelief, not even realizing Bastion had grabbed his hand a second time. All he could see was the light in her hand. The soul she had literally pulled from their friend's body. Hassleberry's screams had stopped, his body stiff in the chains and grip of the darkness. His eyes were wide, and full of fear and pain.

"Excellent!" Alice exclaimed, laughing maniacally to herself, her eyes locking on the pure light clutched in her demented grip. Taking a step away from her captive the shadowy tendrils holding him in place disappeared, his body now limp and lifeless falling to the floor, a powerful thud sounding as his body hit the ground, the chains around his wrists and ankles clattering as well, screeching through the air around them.

"Hassleberry!" Jaden cried out, springing forward as the wall of dark energy dissipated, no longer needed now that she was done with the young boy. Scrambling over to his friend's downed form the others followed suit, taking the boy up in his arms Jaden ripped the gag from his mouth, not even caring about the small specks of blood still flowing from his cut to hell back, shaking him in a vain attempt to rouse a response from him. "Wake up, man! Say something!" he begged, even more worried now that Hassleberry's eyes had closed, he couldn't feel his body moving at all, as if no breath was being taken in by his still form. "Wake up, please!"

"Jaden…" Syrus whispered, tears entering his large gray eyes. Hassleberry wouldn't answer them, they all knew that full well. Jaden was more or less sobbing by that point, cradling Hassleberry's still form in his arms. He blamed himself for this completely, he could never forgive himself. Never.

"How could you!?" Bastion demanded to know, kneeling down next to Jaden, gently placing his arm around the brunette's shoulder, trying to be of comfort to him to little avail. "What did Hassleberry ever do to you!?" Of course he knew it was pointless to ask, he knew full well why she had done what she did, Jaden's frantic explanation had made sure of that, but still he couldn't stop the words from spilling out. Despite the fact he knew the reason, he really just needed her to say it.

"Nothing." She answered plain, glancing to the lifeless form in Jaden's trembling arms, still locked within the iron chains she had placed him in previously. His soul was warm in her own dead grasp, shining brightly in the midst of the darkness they were surrounded by. A darkness she could sense emanating from the eldest among them, and from the fearful expression on his gorgeous face, she got the feeling that he could too. Smirking, she chuckled to herself, more than enjoying the pain and anguish the teens were losing themselves in. "He was merely a pawn. Were it not for his pure soul, he'd have been completely useless to me. Another disposable human with no more value to me than the next."

"That's all he was to you?" Syrus asked, curling his small hands into tightly clenched fists, angered by how she had completely dismissed what she had done to his friend. "Worthless? Disposable? After everything, how kind he was to you, his life meant _nothing _to you?"

"Of course." She retorted heartlessly, not caring at all about the life she had just taken. "You humans are all the same to me. Without souls like his, you're all less than nothing!" turning around in an elegant and fluid motion she locked her eyes on Atticus, who stood a short ways from Bastion and Jaden, clutching his hair in his hands, digging his fingers into his silky milk chocolate hair and subsequently into his skull, his eyes screwed shut as discomforted groans escaped his lips, trying to fight off the darkness that threatened to take him once more. "But then again, there _are _those with some sort of use." Laughing an unhinged laugh she swung out her free hand towards the eldest teen, once again summoning the shadowy tendrils they shot out towards the teen, wrapping themselves tightly around his wrists, pulling his arms down and holding them a small ways out from his body before wrapping themselves around his ankles, holding the brunette in place as the final misty snake encircled his neck, tightening its grip, restricting his breath enough to keep him from screaming too much.

"Atticus!" Jaden cried out, horrified that she was so quick to attack another of his friends. Still cradling Hassleberry's still form in his arms he quickly turned back to Alice, wanting nothing more than the power to go back in time and stop this all from happening at all. It was all becoming far too much. "Alice please! Stop this!" he begged, unable to bare the thought of any more of his friends getting hurt.

"Silence, child!" She shouted, narrowing her eyes at the younger brunette, taking joy from the tears she saw lining his youthful brown eyes. "Once I absorb your friend's dark energy, I'll be strong enough to withstand Hassleberry's pure light!" She explained, tightening her grip on the pure light in her grasp, unwilling to let it go. The shadows binding Atticus began to glow a soft purple color, spreading the light over the Obelisk's body as a series of discomforted moans and weak, unsupported cries escaped from the boy's lips, Alice too started to emanate a strange dark light covering her body, cackling as she took in all the energy she could from the captive boy.

"...L...Lexi…." Atticus choked out, mustering all the strength he could, desperately calling out for the sister he had lost to Sartorius. Calling for his whole world, the world that had been taken from him just like anything and everything else the island had seen fit to steal away from him. First it was his freedom, holding him captive and lost in a deep darkness for a full two years, and now it was his precious little sister. But still through it all, she had saved him once. Even knowing full well she was so far gone she didn't even seem to recognize him anymore, he still held out hope that she would come and save him one more time.

Syrus could hardly believe what was happening around him, despite the fact that he could see it all. Hassleberry was lying there, lifeless in Jaden's arms, his soul clutched within a literal demon's grasp. And apparently effectively sentencing one of his friends to death wasn't enough for her, she had turned her evil powers on Atticus, who had already suffered enough and who didn't even want to come here. For the first time in what felt like forever, the little bluenette could feel the hot fire of a deep anger begin to burn within him. Clenching his fists tighter his knuckles began to turn white, his eyes shooting daggers at the cackling demon. Forgetting about safety for a moment Syrus gave in to his hate for a moment, hurling his body at the girl a short ways from him, an angered cry escaping his lips.

"Sy..?" Jaden reacted, looking up as he heard his best friend's cry, tears still lining his eyes before they widened, beholding what Syrus had just done. The bluenette's tiny body collided with Alice, the dark light fading from her form as the two bodies collided with the floor, the shadows binding Atticus disappearing, releasing him before he fell to his knees, raising his hand to his neck as he coughed, recovering from the slight strangulation he had suffered. As Alice's body hit the stone ground, the force assailing her body on both fronts caught her by surprise. The shock causing her porcelain body to stiffen, her eyes widened from the shock as her hands involuntarily opened, revealing Hassleberry's soul, it's light shining bright throughout the dark chamber, illuminating a decent amount of it in its pure glow.

"N-NO!" She shouted, reaching her arm out for the floating orb, her eyes wide as it flew away from her, floating around for a short while before making its way back over to its vessel. Hovering over the still boy's chest for a moment Bastion and Jaden could hardly believe their eyes, watching in disbelief as the bright orb descended towards Hassleberry, sinking into the boy's chest, the light disappearing as it returned to its rightful place.

"H-Hassleberry…?" Jaden asked, still afraid that his friend wouldn't answer him. A short moment passed, Jaden's fear beginning to rise, but as soon as it rose, it completely dropped. The color quickly returned to Hassleberry's body, his chest beginning to slowly rise and fall as breath returned to his lungs. Without even a moment to react the muscular boy shot up into a sitting position, seemingly not even hindered by the chains still holding his arms behind his back, the boy coughing exponentially, the life finally returned to him.

"Hassleberry!" Bastion gasped, he and Jaden taking the boy into their arms, keeping him steady knowing full well he had to still be in great physical pain what with the state of his back and the obvious stab wound in his left leg, and on top of that he had basically just _died._ "Easy, easy now, it's alright." He soothed, rubbing the boy's shoulder, careful not to touch his mutilated back. "Can you stand? We need to get you out of here."

"Gotta get him out of those chains first." Atticus informed having recovered enough from Alice's assault to offer his aid, kneeling down beside the younger boys, examining the iron restraints still holding the youngest prisoner, locating the release, snapping open the chains around Hassleberry's wrists, freeing his arms before moving to free his ankles.

"J-Jaden…" Hassleberry coughed out, his voice soft and weak having only just awoken from basically being killed, but also after having been tortured more than any teen should be.

"I'm here, Hassleberry, don't worry." Jaden soothed, placing a comforting hand on the young boy's shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze as he tried to offer him any sort of comfort he could all things considered. "We're gonna get you out of here, alright? You're safe now, everything's gonna be okay."

"NO!" Alice roared, growling as she narrowed her eyes at the bluenette still holding her down on the floor with his own body, recovering from the adrenaline he had exerted previously, hardly able to believe that he had been able to bring himself to do that. "This is all _your _fault!" taking her hand and clasping it tightly around the small boy's slender neck, hoisting him a small ways into the air as she stood from her spot on the ground. "You'll pay!" holding the little boy by his neck she tightened her grasp, great anger showing on her face as she strangled him. Struggling in her hold Syrus reached up, making an attempt to pry her hand off of him, but to little avail.

"Syrus!" Jaden cried, looking up to see the demon girl strangling his best friend. Quickly thinking of what to do as Bastion took Hassleberry from him, slinging the boy's muscular arm over his shoulder and wrapping his own free arm carefully around the youngest boy's back, helping him carefully and slowly up off of the ground, supporting him as best he could, Jaden dug his hand into his jacket pocket, grabbing out the flask of holy water Banner had instructed him to grab from his room, hidden with the rest of his stash of occult defense mechanisms he had procured over his time as a horror movie fan, making eye contact with the bluenette as he turned his dulling gray eyes to his best friend, Jaden knew what he had to do. "Sy, catch!" He called out, tossing the flask to the small boy. Reaching out his free hand Syrus managed to catch the glass flask, Alice's eyes widening as she realized what the boy now carried before the boy swung his arm back at her, the glass shattering on contact with her doll body's porcelain skin, drenching her in the blessed liquid as it escaped from the broken flask, screaming as her body began to burn, releasing her grip on the little bluenette.

"AUGH!" She cried out, covering her face with her hands as she recoiled from the pain the holy water introduced to her form. She could feel her power siphoning away as the blessing seeped into her, causing her incredible discomfort. Syrus rose from his knees after having been dropped by Alice rather suddenly, coughing for a moment before rushing back over to Jaden, clinging to his best friend as he recovered from what had just happened.

"A-Are you alright, Sy? You're not hurt are you?" Jaden quick fired, wrapping his arms around the small boy, mortified by all that had happened in such a short time besides just needed to know that his best friend was alright. If anything happened to the little bluenette it would be like the end of the world to Jaden, so he needed to know the boy hadn't been hurt.

"I-I'm fine.." Syrus nodded, clinging tightly to the brunette, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"C'mon, you two!" Atticus called, waving to them from the chamber's entrance, ushering Bastion and Hassleberry through the door, as they slowly began their escape, Hassleberry limping along, depending on Bastion to support him with the wound in his leg impairing his ability to walk, and not to mention that he had only just woken up from being dead, and his body's movement was still rather slow and sluggish. "We have to get out of here!"

"Got it!" Jaden answered, looking back down at Syrus before taking his hands off of the boy. "Let's go, Sy. She won't be stunned much longer."

"Okay." Syrus replied, letting go of Jaden's jacket before joining him as they ran to catch up with the others, making their escape at a leisurely pace but still as quickly as Hassleberry could handle. Still hearing Alice's discomforted demonic screams behind them Jaden felt for the salt and lighter in his pocket, ready for what he knew would have to be done once she came after them.

"Stay strong, Hassleberry." Bastion soothed, keeping his hold on the younger boy, doing his best to support him as they made their way slowly through the basement corridors, doing their best to reach the ground floor as quickly as they could. "We're almost there. We're almost out, alright?"

"Y-Yeah.." Hassleberry answered, offering a tired nod as he leaned more into Bastion, feeling his exhaustion fighting to take hold of him, doing his best to push through and keep limping along, beyond grateful that his friends had finally come, that they had finally found him. It felt like he had been gone for an eternity, all the pain she put him through. He only wished he would have known better when he first met her. Maybe then he wouldn't have fallen so hard for her, and his judgment wouldn't have been clouded by his childish puppy love. But for now all he could focus on was staying awake.

Hurrying down the path as quickly as they could the reached the stairs leading back to the surface. With great difficulty the four friends aided Hassleberry to slowly ascend, his wobbly legs beginning to fail him as the pain and exhaustion threatened to overcome him. Alice's angered and demonic growls echoed through the dark corridor behind them, growing louder as she no doubt approached. Jaden clutched the salt in his pocket as he helped Bastion get Hassleberry up the final stair, preparing himself for what he was going to have to do.

"Guys, get Hassleberry outta here." Jaden instructed, planning on doing the deed alone, while his friends made their escape so that they would be out of harm's way. "I'll handle her alone."

"Jaden, no!" Syrus protested, worried that she would hurt him if she was able to get the upper hand on him, or somehow foil Jaden's plan. "It's too dangerous!"

"I know." Jaden answered, stopping as they entered the next room, not planning on leaving until Alice was trapped inside, just as Banner had instructed him to do before ultimately setting the building ablaze. An act they could be highly punished for, and he'd rather not get the others in trouble along with him. Fully prepared and determined to take the blame. "But I can't let her hurt you guys again.."

"..Sarge…" Hassleberry tiredly whispered, his head drooping as he leaned against Bastion, desperately needing rest and medical attention.

"It's gonna be alright, Hassleberry." Jaden soothed, offering a gentle but sad smile to the young boy. He wanted nothing more than to apologize to him, to pour out all of the guilt and sorrow he had been holding in, but Jaden still contained the feelings. There would be plenty of time for apologies after the demon was gone.

"Come on, kiddo." Atticus said, helping Bastion support the boy's dead weight as he fought to stay conscious, a determined look coming over the brunette's face. "Let's get you outta here."

"Be careful, Jaden." Bastion cautioned, knowing that Jaden wouldn't be talked out of doing this. His mind was made up, and that really was going to be the end of it as far as the brunette was concerned. Jaden nodded back with a determined look in his face, watching them lead Hassleberry away, aiming to get him outside and out of harm's way as soon as possible while still keeping up a relatively slow pace for his sake. Glancing down slightly Jaden locked his eyes with the little bluenette before him, having not moved an inch from where he had been stood.

"Jaden, I won't let you do this alone!" Syrus asserted, holding no desire to leave his best friend, especially since he fully intended on going head to head with an actual, _literal _demon.

"Sy, I promise, I'll be fine." Jaden reassured, placing his hand on the boy's small shoulder, cringing for a second as Alice's angered growl sounded to be even closer now. "The holy water should've basically put her out of commission." He smirked, hoping to hurry the small boy along so he could take her down without putting him at risk again. "I'll only be a minute."

"But.." Syrus worried, glancing passed his friend, making sure Alice wasn't there. He knew Jaden wasn't going to change his mind, but it didn't make him feel any better about the whole thing. Sighing he looked back up at his best friend, his worry still far from subsiding. "Just..be careful, okay..?"

"I promise." Jaden smiled, taking the small boy into his arms for a gentle, reassuring hug. Listening for a second he could hear Alice stumbling up the stairs behind them, groaning as the holy water was no doubt still burning her body's cursed skin. Releasing his friend Jaden nudged Syrus towards the exit, wanting him out of sight before she reached the top. "Get out of here, quick!"

"You'd better stop her, Jaden." Syrus warned, giving him a serious look before turning away, lingering for a moment in hesitation before hurrying off after the others. Sighing to himself Jaden took a deep breath, taking the salt from his pocket and clenching it tightly in his hand, turning his eye to the small bottle.

"_This had better work." _He thought, unscrewing the lid and pouring a small line across the exit, creating what Banner had described as a barrier there, hopeful that his late professor had given him a plan that would actually work. Quickly moving to the side of the room he made his way back towards the entrance from the basement, waiting for her to hobble up the stairs before blocking off what would be her only exit otherwise. Holding his breath for a second he could hear her growl as she stumbled up the steps, practically tripping over the top stair as she accelerated her speed, determined to catch up to the no good teenage brats who had foiled her plans. Falling to her knees as she reached the ground floor she stayed down for a second, catching her breath and making an attempt to replenish what energy she could as the holy water's burning blessing finally began to slowly dissipate. Cautiously inching towards the doorway she had entered Jaden clutched the salt tight, quietly pouring the rest out in a line across the opening, blocking her only remaining escape route. turning his eyes to the demon girl panting on the ground, he suddenly felt a lot less afraid of her than before. Smirking as he dared make his presence known.

"Hey."

Quickly whipping her head to the side Alice's empty eyes narrowed at the Slifer Red looking back at her with his own cheeky little grin plastered across his face, his right hand resting on his hip as he looked her over, anger spilling through every crack in her dolls body.

"You!" She shouted in disgust. She'd hated him from the moment she'd first met him. And now she knew exactly why. She couldn't fucking _stand _him. Crossing his arms the brunette chuckled slightly to himself, almost seeming like he was enjoying himself in his moment of superiority.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Alice."

"You insolent whelp!" Alice fired venomously at the young brunette, her dulled eyes still managing to burn with her inner hellfires. Stumbling up from her spot on the ground she turned to face him, not even having noticed the salt lines now entrapping her in that room. "You'll pay dearly for what you've done!"

"Actually, Alice. I don't think it's me who's going to pay." Jaden corrected, narrowing his eyes at her, slowly taking a step closer, maneuvering slightly to the left with the intention of crossing behind her to get as close to the exit as he could before she realized something was amiss. "You hurt my friends. And for that, it's _you _who's going to pay for what you've done!"

"Naive child!" Alice cackled, amused by the idea that he thought he could actually defeat her even with her severely weakened powers. "Who are _you_, a simple _human. _To think that you can defeat _me_!?" if there was anymore venom in her tone she'd have to have been a literal snake. The hatred she carried was hot and intense, if she could've gained power from just her hate she'd be unstoppable. But luckily for Jaden, it wasn't so.

"People like you will never understand." Jaden sighed, shaking his head as he reached his desired destination, her eyes trained on him as he berated her to her face. Reaching back into his pocket he wrapped his fingers around the lighter Banner had directed him to, looking quickly at the decorative drapes to his left. They were deep inside the abandoned dorm, and there were no windows in the room, but still decorative drapes hung on the walls, adding a bit more of a fancy atmosphere to the space. After all, the place used to be the Obelisk Blue dorm back in the day. "When you're evil, and you hurt innocent people," he continued, taking the lighter from his pocket he held it out just enough for her to see, his eyes narrowing as her own widened at what she saw "someone like me always comes around to take you down." clicking the lighter the flame ignited. Staring her down Jaden felt his own anger heating up as he thought back on what she had done. Kidnapping Hassleberry was bad enough, but seeing the state he was in now because of her, he had never hated anyone so much in his life. She had taken one of the strongest people Jaden had ever known and reduced him to a bleeding and broken shell of himself, and that was a crime he could never forgive.

"You wouldn't dare!" Alice shouted, swinging her arms out, trying to summon her dark shadows, but nothing came of it. Gasping as she realized just how powerless she was, her eyes widening in shock knowing how probable it was beginning to look that he could actually cast her out, sending her back to the fires from whence she came.

"Try me." Jaden remarked, moving the lighter closer to the drapery, more than prepared to set the entire place ablaze. Before she could protest, he tilted his hand just so, just enough for the flame to graze the exposed fabric.

"Stop!" Alice cried, rushing forwards towards the brunette, stumbling awkwardly she fell to her knees once more, looking back up at him in pure rage and fear, her eyes fixated on the growing flames for a moment before she noticed just why he was so confident in his plans. A line of salt laid across the doorway, creating a spiritual barrier with the intention of keeping her trapped in there while the building was set ablaze, gasping once more she backed away from the brunette, taking in the realization that she seemed to truly be done for.

"Alice." Jaden said, turning his narrowed eyes to her as he slowly backed away, taking a cautious step over the salt line, leaving her in the progressively igniting room, keeping the lighter trained on the wooden walls beside him to help things along. "You're done."


	8. Chapter 8

_**-Chapter 8-**_

"What the hell's taking him so long!?" Atticus fired out, kneeling down beside Hassleberry along with Bastion, resting the now unconscious boy against a tree, giving Bastion a break from supporting him while they waited for Jaden to exit the slowly igniting building.

"Calm down, Atticus, Jaden knows what he's doing." Bastion cautioned, securing his own Ra Yellow jacket around Hassleberry's shoulders, covering his bare torso as well as shielding his back from the rough tree bark he was laid against. "He should be along any minute now."

"I hope so…" Syrus sighed, more than a little worried about his best friend. He knew Jaden of all people wasn't about to get overtaken by someone like her, but still he couldn't help but worry that something had gone wrong. If Jaden had been hurt, Sy's whole world would basically be over. Of course that was over exaggerating it a bit, but so much had happened already, and with Hassleberry in such a sorry state they were all going to need Jaden if they were going to make it through this whole thing. Much less everything else that was already going on with the Society before Alice even showed her face around them. It was all just too much for the little bluenette to take in right now.

"I'm sure he'll be along shortly." Bastion said gently, his hand resting on Hassleberry's shoulder as he kept his eyes on the bluenette staring at the blazing abandoned dorm. The flames were still mostly in the innermost rooms, but still they could see the orange and yellow glow from the fire from the outside. If anything Jaden had successfully executed his plan, now all they needed to do was wait for him to finally come outside. Turning his gaze back to the unconscious boy Bastion couldn't help but worry too. Hassleberry wasn't in any state for them to be waiting around, and if they did wait too much longer sooner or later someone would see the flames and they'd all get caught. They'd get in trouble no matter what but actually getting caught on the scene the punishment would no doubt be that much worse.

"Come on, Jaden.." Atticus sighed, worried as well as the other two. Shaking his head he looked back to the dorm, hoping to see the younger brunette would be coming through the front door any second.

"Guys!"

Turning their eyes to the dorm's front door the three boys watched as Jaden came sprinting out of the door, lighter still lit in hand as he waved his arm at his friends before switching the lighter off, the flame flickering out before he threw it down to the ground, making his way passed the gate, stopping in his tracks in front of Syrus, placing his hands on the boy's slender shoulders, staring him straight in his large gray eyes.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, we're all fine." Syrus answered, nodding to his best friend as he quickly glanced over him, looking to inspect the brunette's own condition. "What about you?"

"Fine. I'm fine." Jaden answered back, panting slightly as he caught his breath from both the sprint and the smoke as the flames continued to invoke the building, listening for a moment as Alice's demonic, agonizing cries began to quiet. "She's done." Looking over to the Hassleberry for a moment Jaden's expression took on a fresh dose of concern, looking over the unconscious boy for a moment his eyes turned to Bastion, looking for an answer. "How's Hassleberry?"

"It's hard to tell." Bastion informed, placing his hand back on the younger boy's broad shoulder, looking him over as Jaden walked over, kneeling down before examining the boy for himself. "I believe it would be best for us to take him to the infirmary immediately."

"Right." Jaden nodded, his expression softening as he looked upon the unconscious dino duelist. Through everything he had been subject to the young boy's face looked peaceful, as if he were simply sleeping rather than being proper unconscious and injured. But even so the sight made Jaden's heart ache. He couldn't help but think that none of this would've had to happen had he not wanted so badly to be able to trust Alice. If he had suspected her from the start like the others had. Through everything Jaden couldn't help but blame himself, just as he knew the others didn't want him to.

"Let's get you outta here, kiddo." Atticus whispered, helping Bastion and they lifted Hassleberry from the ground, wrapping their arms around him they did their best to cause him as little discomfort as they could, planning on getting him to the infirmary as quickly as they could.

"Come on, Jaden." Syrus coaxed, placing his hand on Jaden's shoulder, the brunette still not having risen from his spot on the ground, staring solemnly at the ground. "We have to go."

Sighing quietly to himself Jaden looked back up at Syrus, pulling himself together for a moment before raising back up to his feet, offering his best friend a soft smile. Turning his eyes to the burning dorm behind them he listened for a moment, but Alice's demonic wails had long since quieted, leaving only the crackling of the flames engulfing the cursed building. All that was left for them to do now was walk away from the horrible things they had witnessed there. But still they would never forget. Placing his hand once more on Syrus's slender shoulder he led the small boy away from the flaming dorm before things got too dangerous for them to be there, following Atticus and Bastion back down the path. Walking in silence the friends kept vigil watching Hassleberry's condition, wanting to know immediately if he got worse. The academy wasn't too terribly far away but it was far enough that they were still worried about how the unconscious teen would fair. On top of that was well, they worried about how the next few days were going to play out, knowing how much trouble they were going to get into for burning down the abandoned dorm, and with the added stress of worrying about Hassleberry's health...it was going to be a rough few days…

_**Three Days Later**_

"So how are you feeling, Hassleberry?" Syrus asked, looking over at the younger boy as the group stood in the hallway outside of the infirmary. Ms Fontaine had allowed them to take Hassleberry out for some fresh air, but only if they didn't stray too far. Offering Syrus a small smile the young duelist adjusted his position in the wheelchair Fontaine had practically confined him to when he wasn't in bed, honestly appreciative of the small boy's concern.

"Well, my wounds still hurt a bit, but otherwise, I feel fine. And I'm gettin' stronger every day, son." Hassleberry answered cheerfully, fairly chipper in the aftermath of all that had happened all things considered.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Atticus questioned, shooting a concerned look to the younger boy, more than a little concerned about his well being. "I mean...you _died _because of her. I know I wouldn't be fine after that."

"That's right." Bastion nodded, an aura of care coming over him, concerned as well for the boy's current state. "You know, it's completely natural if you feel any distress regarding your...encounter with Alice." Examining Hassleberry's body language as he spoke, Bastion could see the young boy stiffen at the mention of her name, clearly still affected by everything that had happened to him, just as anyone would be. Sighing quietly Bastion placed a hand gently on the young Ra's stiffened shoulder, offering a saddened smile as the boy began to slowly relax at his friend's comforting touch. "But it's over now. She can't hurt you anymore."

"Y-Yeah.." Hassleberry nodded, slightly more relaxed but still visibly uncomfortable talking about the whole thing. It was a natural response to such a serious trauma, but still it was better to talk about it than to keep the feelings inside. "Yeah, you're right."

Jaden hadn't said a word since they came. Standing beside the railing along the wall of windows Jaden leaned against it, the look in his eyes was like he was trying to work up the courage for something. They knew Jaden blamed himself for everything that happened despite all of their assurances that he did nothing wrong, but still the brunette couldn't come to terms with it, and still he sought forgiveness. Taking a deep breath Jaden turned his eyes to the boy in the wheelchair, taking special note of the bandages wrapped around his chest and stomach, covering the deeply cut wounds that decorated his back, and he couldn't forget the patched up stab wound his leg had suffered, despite the blanket draped over the boy's legs hiding it from view. It tore Jaden apart inside seeing Hassleberry like that. The boy always seemed so invincible, and yet here he was, injured and just about traumatized, and as far as Jaden was concerned it was all his fault. The guilt was just eating him up inside.

"Hey, Hassleberry…?" Jaden final spoke, sighing quietly once more, shaking his head as he continued, the others turning their gaze his way. "I'm…sorry..."

"Look, Sarge, I know you think it's your fault." Hassleberry began, an air of conviction about him now despite his remaining distress still quite evident. "But I don't blame you. The opposite, in fact. You saved my life. And I could never think less of you after something like that."

"But if I hadn't been so stupid…" Jaden sighed, shaking his head as he turned away from the young duelist, not wanting to see him in such a state anymore. "If I hadn't wanted so badly to trust her, to believe she was good...I can't help but think that if I had been more vigilant than maybe she wouldn't have kidnapped you in the first place…"

"Jaden.." Syrus sighed quietly, sad the the brunette still felt that way. It wasn't necessarily all that surprising, Jaden always took every incident very personally if one of his friends was put into harm's way, but seeing him so sad was never an easy thing for the bluenette to witness.

"You can't go blamin' yourself for somethin' you couldn't control." Hassleberry almost scolded, not wanting to see his friend in such distress any more than the others. "None of it is your fault. If it's anyone here's fault, it's my own. Letting her get to me and play me like a fiddle how she did…" he sighed, thinking back on how it all began. Falling so hard for her at first sight, thinking back it was more infatuation than anything, but at the time he truly believed she was the girl of his dreams. If only he hadn't realized too late.. "But we all know whose fault it really was, and she's long gone now.."

"That's true." Atticus nodded, placing a hand on Hassleberry's shoulder, offering a gentle and comforting smile before turning his gaze to Jaden, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder as well, wanting nothing more than to help him feel better. "She can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Everything's alright now." Bastion soothed, smiling softly at his dear friends, though he as well as the others all knew with the Society still lurking around brainwashing students and generally trying to take over the world, everything was _far _from alright, especially with Chazz and Alexis still under Sartorius's control. But still in that moment, standing around with the remaining group in the wake of such a tremendous conundrum, there was a serenity there among them. A grave threat still remained, but still they had overcome another, and they had overcome it together.

"So, how much trouble did you guys get into for burning the dorm down..?" Hassleberry asked, wanting to change the subject away from Alice, even if for just a moment. Chuckling to himself for a second Jaden turned back to him, his cheeky grin finally beginning to return to his slightly less solemn face.

"Well, it was a lot more until we explained the situation." He explained, thinking back on the rather...loud...conversation they had had to have with Crowler after the fact.

"Yeah, Crowler was really letting us have it." Atticus recalled, smiling as his own chuckle escaped from under his breath, crossing his arms as he shook his head at the memory. "He _was_ going to have us expelled. But once we explained what happened out there, he seemed a bit more lenient."

"Lenient indeed." Bastion interjected, a deep sarcasm overlaying his rather light tone. "Now we just have detention for the next month."

"I still can't believe that's all he did to punish us, you know, after burning down a building?" Syrus thought out loud, indeed finding it hard to believe Crowler didn't seriously punish them like he was originally intending. But he supposed maybe literally saving a person's life may have made their actions seem a mite more heroic than just destructive and irresponsible. But still, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to him.

"Well, as long as we're all still together." Hassleberry smiled, happy that the five of them were all still together and all in one piece. Even after everything that had happened to him, he still couldn't think of a better outcome for it all.

"Pardon the intrusion, boys."

As the unmistakable voice reached their ears the boys turned their heads to Crowler, standing a short distance down the hallway, a gentle expression on his face as his eyes scanned the group for a moment before his gaze landed on the boy in the wheelchair. A wave of relief washing over him upon seeing that Hassleberry wasn't as badly damaged as he had feared.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh no, not at all." Bastion said, shaking his head at the esteemed professor.

"Yeah, no problem." Jaden added, smiling as he recalled their previous topic. "Actually, we were just talking about you, professor."

"I see. Well, I thought perhaps I would come down and see how young Hassleberry was faring." Crowler said, taking a few steps closer as the concern in his eyes made its way into his tone. "Are you alright...?"

"Fine, sir." Hassleberry nodded, a small smile coming across his face, hoping their teacher wasn't too terribly worried about him. After all, he had a lot more to worry about being in charge of the entire school.

"Well that is good news." Crowler sighed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after hearing those words. When he had heard that Hassleberry was brought to the infirmary in such an awful state Crowler had been positively beside himself with concern. Sure he had of course heard the rumor that the boy had gone missing without a trace, but it wasn't until after it was all over that Jaden and the others had bothered to tell him what had happened at all, and only after he had threatened to expel them for torching the abandoned dorm did they explain. In all honesty, Crowler was a little hurt that they hadn't come to him for help. He doubted there was much he would've been able to do, but still he would've liked to have the chance to try, despite what most people would like to believe. "And I'm certainly glad to hear it. I can only imagine how awful all of that must've been for you to go through, my boy..I'm so sorry.."

"Not again..." Hassleberry sighed in slight frustration, starting to get kinda tired of being pitied by anyone and everyone around him, and on top of that he was getting tired of everyone apologizing to him. "Will you guys _please _stop apologizing about this?"

"I beg your pardon..?" Crowler asked, confused by the boy's sudden and subtle hostility towards the concern they were showing him. "Are you certain you're alright?"

"Yeah, Crowler's just worried about you. You don't have to snap at him." Jaden cautioned, practically feeling his friend's distress in the air around them. There was a lot going on inside Hassleberry's head, a lot of which he was clearly stemming from his recent kidnapping, the details of which they still didn't really know about. But considering how physically uncomfortable Hassleberry got when they tried to talk to him about it to try and help him work through the trauma, he wasn't all that surprised that they were still relatively in the dark about the whole thing. But what _did_ surprise him was Hassleberry's sudden hostility towards them and their teacher.

"Look, just please. _Please _stop pitying me. It's not making me feel any better about this.." Hassleberry sighed, really not trying to be rude to his friends. He knew they just wanted to help him get past this traumatic experience and only wanted to show him that they cared, but all their pity and apologies were only serving to make him feel worse about the whole thing. As far as Hassleberry was concerned, being kidnapped and tortured and ultimately temporarily killed by Alice was his own fault, and all he wanted to do was forget about it, but all that was happening around him wasn't allowing him to. "I-I just don't wanna talk about that anymore, okay..?"

"It seems to me that's precisely what you need." Bastion observed, keeping his eyes carefully trained on the younger boy as he began to subtly tremble in his wheelchair. "We know you don't want to, but we want to help you.."

"Bastion please, don't push him.." Crowler cautioned, taking notice of his student's blatant distress. It was true he didn't really know the boy that well, but still it was strange to see him in such a vulnerable state. "Hassleberry's been through a traumatic experience. I'm sure he would just like a little space is all. Am I correct..?"

"Look, I just...I just wanna forget about it. Okay..?" Hassleberry sighed, hugging himself lightly as his gaze turned away from his friends. He knew they didn't mean any harm, but he just couldn't bare to relive those memories. If he had only been kidnapped and tortured that would've been one thing. But Atticus was right before. She had actually managed to _kill _him. And as brief as the situation was, Hassleberry had still been fully aware and affected by what happened. It was an experience none of them could possibly understand, no matter how badly they wanted to think so.

"I know I can't understand exactly how you feel, but I understand wanting to forget." Atticus spoke up, placing a comforting hand on Hassleberry's shoulder, hoping his sympathy would at least be felt. "I was kidnapped too, and brainwashed for two years before Jaden came along and finally set me free. But before then I had been forced to do some truly terrible things...and believe me, I _still _want to forget that time. But without all of your guy's help, I'd never be able to move on from any of it at all."

"I guess you're right, soldier.." Hassleberry sighed. He knew Atticus had a pretty good point, all things considered. Their situations weren't at all the same, but they shared the same desire to forget the trauma they had experienced, and without their friends that would be next to impossible to accomplish. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap it's just...what she...what Alice did to me…"

"It's okay, Hassleberry." Syrus piped up, finally rejoining the conversation, raising his hand and placing it over top Hassleberry's own in a gesture of friendship and comfort, and gentle smile present on his adorable boyish face. "We're here for you no matter what. So whenever you wanna talk, we'll be there to listen."

"I appreciate that." Hassleberry answered, a small and soft smiling finding itself directed at the bluenette beside him. "Thank you."

Jaden smiled softly as well, placing his hand gently on Hassleberry's shoulder before giving it a slight squeeze as they stood together. It would still be a while before the young Ra would be ready to take that first leap, but it was good enough just knowing that his friends were there for him. And Jaden was content with that, just as he knew the others were as well. Taking in the peaceful moments the five friends and Crowler remained there in silence, looking out the wall of windows over the academy grounds, the sun slowly beginning to set as the evening progressed ever further along though the night was still a few hours away. They had survived a terrible trial, and done it together. But the fight was still far from over. So long as Alexis and Chazz remained Sartorius's pawns, the friends knew they couldn't rest. But for now, they were content with this one moment of peace.

"Boys, would you bring Hassleberry back in please?" Ms Fontaine asked, her sweet smile falling down upon the group of boys as she poked out of the infirmary door and into the hallway. "I need to change his bandages."

"Sure thing." Jaden nodded, smiling back at the lovely teacher and school nurse, taking a second to pat his young friend's shoulder. "We'll be there in a second."

"Thank you, boys." Fontaine said, her smile lightening the entire space as she retreated back into the infirmary, preparing to resume the young duelist's care.

"I suppose I should be on my way also." Crowler spoke up, turning back to his students with a profound grace about him rather than his almost typical spastic quality "I've my own work to return to after all." Taking a second before leaving Crowler placed his hand on Hassleberry's shoulder, more than happy that the young boy was on the mend. "I trust I'll be seeing you in class again soon?"

"You can count on it, teach." Hassleberry nodded, putting on a smile of his own for the esteemed professor.

"I will." Crowler responded, nodding to his students in a final acknowledgement before turning away, taking elegant strides down the hallway as he made his return to his office, leaving the students to make their own return to the nurse's office with Hassleberry.

"Alright, we should get you back to Ms Fontaine." Atticus said, taking hold of the wheelchair's handles, turning him around back in the direction of the hospital. "It's time to get you fixed up."

"Thanks guys, seriously. I owe you all my life." Hassleberry thanked, smiling contently as he leaned back slightly in his wheelchair, relaxing a bit as his lifted his head slightly more towards the ceiling, his eyes closing as a contented smile found its place on his face. "I'll get through this, and I promise I'll get better."

"You better." Syrus playfully teased now that the mood had lightened significantly in comparison to before, chuckling to himself before giving the muscular boy's shoulder a light and playful punch. "I'd hate to have to take down Sartorius without you."

"As if _you _could do _that, _Truesdale." Hassleberry laughed, his own teasing tone matching harmoniously with that of the small bluenette, feeling astronomically better now that he had been able to allow himself to let his friends in on his lingering trauma. It was still going to be a long road ahead of him before he could truly recover from all that had transpired, but with his friends to help him walk that road, Hassleberry felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders, giving him the chance to find solace among those who cared for him again. Laughing amongst themselves for a moment Atticus began pushing Hassleberry slowly down the hall, the others following suit as they escorted him back to the hospital. Alice was gone, Hassleberry was safe. But still the danger veiling the island was ever present, and just as strong as ever. Jaden thought back to his friends still in dire need of aid. Stopping for a moment he turned his eyes back to the slowly setting sun, his face taking on a sadder expression as his eyes fell on the two in question, and a sight there hadn't been before. Alexis and Chazz stood on the roof not too far off from where Jaden was, their backs turned to him, still brandishing their white clothes they looked out on the island just as he had before. A deep sadness forming in his chest Jaden clutched at his shirt just above his heart. He had lost Hassleberry, but somehow he and the others had been able to bring him back from even the cold hands of death. But looking at them now, he couldn't help but feel a deep despair within himself, remembering just how far gone the two had become after all this time. Closing his eyes, Jaden took a moment to collect himself before looking back at the friends he had long since lost.

"_If it's the last thing I do...I promise, I'm going to save you...I'll save you both."_

_**The End**_


End file.
